An 84-page report from the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit that is part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Research Division, believes that DHS uses language that is “insulting, demeaning, dehumanizing, offensive, embarrassing, or othering or otherwise make individuals feel uncomfortable, marginalized, disrespected, or unsafe.”
The suggestions in the report are based on interviews the researchers had with 15 individuals “under DHS jurisdiction.”
Entitled, “Language, Labels, and the DHS Lexicon: Analysis to Support a More-Inclusive Lexicon for Securing the Homeland,” the report focuses on immigration, law enforcement, and counterterrorism, claiming these three areas use phrases that individuals find “insulting, demeaning, dehumanizing, disrespectful, and otherwise have negative effects.”
For example, instead of calling an individual entering the United States unlawfully an “illegal immigrant,” the document proposes that DHS uses “undocumented status.”
The document asserts that changing such phrases “demonstrate[s] how the choice of words clearly affects the connotative meaning conveyed.”
According to the document, the terms “looter,” “trespasser,” “rioter,” and “jihadist” have become “racially charged,” adding that the terms are not often applied to “White individuals who might engage in the same conduct or violate the same laws.”
Instead of using the term “riot,” the report calls for DHS to label such an event a “protest,” even though the words are not synonymous.
“In these cases, it is the disparate application of the term, rather than the definition, that has caused it to become disrespectful or damaging.”
Gender-inclusive language is also covered in the report. “This effort might include asking the individual how they identify and to use the proper gender and pronouns in conversation and adding supplemental notes to their records indicating this preference.”
Using gender-inclusive terminology would likely result in individuals having “safer, more-productive, and more beneficial interactions with DHS officials,” according to the report.
The report concluded by saying, “Language is a key aspect of these interactions. Currently, the use of certain terms and language by DHS personnel is resulting in less-than-optimal outcomes that are harming individuals under the department’s jurisdiction and making the job of securing the homeland more difficult for its employees.”
“DHS—through an improved lexicon— can improve outcomes for the fair and respectful treatment of individuals over whom it has authority and, in doing so, improve outcomes for its employees and the goals and objectives of the department as a whole.”
