??

It was. But lots of things people used to say is not acceptable today. That’s literally the definition of progress: shit gets better…

It still very much seems to be. The word is all over the place. Some seem to have started calling them “undocumented migrants” and other terms, but it’s still a commonly used term. If you want a short term that’s more “pc”, that seems like a good one in that case, because “people who immigrated illegally” is fucking mouthful for a headline.