A federal appeals court judge rebuked his colleagues for their use of the term “noncitizen” instead of “alien” in an immigration opinion Thursday.

Judge Carlos Bea, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, said his panel members shouldn’t have referred to Lexis Hernandez Avilez as a “noncitizen” rather than the statutory term “alien” in a ruling on her challenge to her detention. Avilez, a Mexican citizen who was subject to mandatory detention, is not entitled to a bond hearing while awaiting a decision in her removal proceedings, the panel held.