Undocumented vs. Illegal Migrant: Towards Terminological Coherence

This article offers a terminological reflection on the expression illegal immigrant . In particular, it argues against the arbitrary choice of terminology used to refer to undocumented migration in academic and scientific texts. On the basis of certain legal, linguistic, and sociopolitical concerns...

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Autor principal: Mila Paspalanova
Formato: Artículo científico
Publicado: El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, A.C. 2008
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Acceso en línea:http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=15140304
http://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi?a=d&c=mx/mx-016&d=15140304oai
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Sumario:This article offers a terminological reflection on the expression illegal immigrant . In particular, it argues against the arbitrary choice of terminology used to refer to undocumented migration in academic and scientific texts. On the basis of certain legal, linguistic, and sociopolitical concerns, it suggests that the use of illegal migrant/ alien should be seriously reconsidered and replaced with alternative terms, such as undocumented or irregular immigrant, which are both terminologically correct and lack the negative social implications of the phrase illegal immigrant/alien or clandestine alien .