Preferred Pronouns: US Border Agents Told to Use ‘Woke’ Language

An internal memo instructs Customs and Border Protection agents not to assume an illegal immigrant’s gender identity.

U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a camouflaged family from Mexico after they had illegally crossed the U.S.–Mexico border near Naco, Ariz., on Nov. 4, 2022. John Moore/Getty Images

The Biden administration has instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to not use gendered pronouns such as “he,” “him,” “she,” and “her” when dealing with the public, according to an internal memo obtained by The Heritage Foundation.

“We just obtained [CBP] documents directing personnel to only use woke language when encountering individuals invading the United States,” the think tank’s Oversight Project said on X, formerly known as Twitter.