When public officials use offensive language, should journalists repeat it?

Public officials are reviving terms many newsrooms have abandoned, forcing journalists to weigh accuracy against amplification

The word “alien” or “aliens” appeared dozens of times in the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.

Many of the references — to “alien parents,” “alien nations,” “transient aliens” and “domiciled aliens” — referred to prior legal cases.

But one mention inside the June 30 ruling stood out. Justice Clarence Thomas, in his lengthy dissent, cited the 1857 Dred Scott decision, in which the court held that people of African descent could not be U.S. citizens.