Mitt Romney adopted controversial language during the Republican primaries to demonstrate his hard-line position on immigration. Romney referred to the undocumented as "illegal aliens," and even suggested making their lives so hard that they'd "self-deport." On Up With Chris Hayes, a vibrant panel—composed of journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, WNYC's Brooke Gladstone, PBS's Maria Hinojosa and Columbia linguist John McWhorter—talked about the implications of using the term "illegals." How much does the language we use affect our political discourse?

—Steven Hsieh