Justice Sotomayor's opinion in the case, Mohawk Industries v. Carpenter, No. 08-678, marked the first use of the term "undocumented immigrant," according to a legal database. The term "illegal immigrant" has appeared in a dozen decisions.We've previously discussed the problems with the phrase "illegal immigrant" (or the even worse "illegal"), and about the implicit racism with which the term is loaded.
It's not a coincidence that it was the first Latina appointed to the Supreme Court who introduced the term "undocumented immigrant" into the Court's lexicon.
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