Update: The
Times has second thoughts, too. Like AP, it doesn't say clearly what term it
will use. However, it did make the bold move of explicitly telling its readers what that other pejorative term,
stylebook, means.
Quote:
The Associated Press made a bold move on Tuesday in dropping the term “illegal immigrant” from its influential stylebook.
The Times, for the past couple of months, has also been considering changes to its stylebook entry on this term and will probably announce them to staff members this week. (A stylebook is the definitive guide to usage, relied upon by writers and editors, for the purpose of consistency.)
From what I can gather, The Times’s changes will not be nearly as sweeping as The A.P.’s.
It will “provide more nuance and options” for what term to use, said Philip B. Corbett, associate managing editor for standards. In the past, for example, the term “undocumented” has practically been banned as a euphemism. That position is very likely to be softened in the revision, and other ways of describing those who are in the United States without proper legal documentation probably will be allowed and encouraged.