Sen. Ted Cruz is now going after the Library of Congress for changing the term 'illegal alien' to 'noncitizen.'
The terms will be exchanged in subject headings for organizing materials. The Library of Congress confirmed Thursday it will change subjects currently filed as 'aliens' and 'illegal aliens' to 'noncitizens' and 'illegal immigration.'
Cruz, R-Texas, wrote in a letter dated Wednesday with Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., expressing his distaste for the updated terminology, calling it 'Orwellian.'
The change was scheduled originally for 2016, but was delayed.
The Biden administration ordered immigration agencies to stop using the term earlier this year.
'This decision is nothing but a politically-motivated and Orwellian attempt to manipulate and control language,' Cruz wrote.
'This decision is nothing but a politically-motivated and Orwellian attempt to manipulate and control language,' Cruz wrote
The Library of Congress confirmed Thursday it will change subjects currently filed as 'aliens' and 'illegal aliens' to 'noncitizens' and 'illegal immigration'
The letter noted that Congress has not yet passed any law to replace the term 'alien' in code, and that the Supreme Court uses the term.
'Replacing words in search terms, indexes, or indexing language for political reasons is an abuse of the trust that Congress has placed in the Library to accurately and neutrally compile original sources and make them easily accessible to the public.'
The lawmakers also argue that the term 'alien' matches many of the words used in the sources in the library, making them easier to find.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, as repeatedly introduced legislation to replace the term 'alien' in laws and government documents. He pointed to other times Congress has replaced words now deemed problematic in government lexicon, such as with words like 'lunatic' and 'mentally retarded.'
Castro pointed out the word 'alien' is used to reference creatures from outer space.
'Words matter, particularly in the context of an issue as contentious as immigration,' he said in 2015.
Earlier this month Cruz, one of the Senate's frontline warriors in the culture wars, went
