New York City made headlines in 2020 when it became the first place to pass a bill requiring removal of the terms "alien," "illegal immigrant," and "illegal migrant" from local rules, guidelines, and documents. The council stated that these words should be replaced with "noncitizen." While many people see this as a landmark decision, others do not believe that New York is making the right move for its citizens.

Francisco Moya, a Councilman from Queens, sponsored the bill to ban the words in official documents because he considered them derogatory. This came about after the NYC Commission on Human Rights issued a guidance in 2019 that stated, "the use of certain language, including 'illegal alien' and 'illegals,' with the intent to demean, humiliate, or offend a person or persons constitutes discrimination." 

Bitta Mostofi, who was at the time a NYC Immigrant Affairs commissioner, was pleased with the work the council was doing. She said, "at a time when the federal government is engaged in divisive policies and racist rhetoric, we are proud to have worked within the administration with the council to show that there is a better way, one that recognizes the humanity of New Yorkers."

Steven Matteo was one of four then-councilmen who was not in favor of the proposition, calling it "an ill-conceived attempt to censor language, but all it does is blur important distinctions between noncitizens--whether they are students, tourists, temporary residents or here illegally." He feels that these distinctions are important and that the terms should remain as they are to represent them most accurately.

Some people approve of the changes in official documentation, as they think terms such as "alien" emphasize an us-versus-them mentality. They believe that these terms are offensive and derogatory at best, and dehumanizing at worst.

Others consider these efforts to be a waste of the city council's time and resources. They say that government officials' time would be better spent on addressing more pressing issues such as economic concerns or public safety.

The question up for debate: should the terms "alien" and "illegal #immigrant" have been replaced by "noncitizen" in NYC government documents?