NY has made it illegal to call someone an “illegal alien”

This isn't a good sign. And it's worse than the title says, too. There are multiple other things that they list as illegal, both in speech and in actions.

For instance, it's now illegal to discriminate against someone in hiring for having limited English. What if I need someone who's good at English, for a sales position or something? Now what am I going to do if an illegal alien with limited English abilities signs up for this sales position? I'm screwed.

I have a lot of sympathy for the intent of this, but—now—using the same phrase that appears all through title eight of federal law to identify an applicable individual in New York City can result in you getting fined.