Launching an assertive overhaul, the U.S. President, Donald Trump, has initiated steps to revolutionize the American immigration policy during his preliminary days in the Presidential office. As of January 20, 2025, an array of executive orders signed by Trump pose temporary restrictions on refugees seeking entrance into the United States. These orders also restrain immigrants from lodging asylum claims at U.S. frontiers, coupled with several analogous initiatives.
Moreover, these executive decrees dictate federal departments to withhold issuance of essential documents like passports, birth certificates, and Social Security numbers to newborns in the U.S. who are born to parents that lack a legal status or hold temporary permits in the country. Ascending against the prevalent rules of birthright citizenship, guarded by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, these new measures have met opposition from several states.
A legal opposition to this drastic change was witnessed on January 21, when eighteen states collectively filed a lawsuit to counteract this executive order. Engaging as scholars focused on the topic of immigration, we are constantly tracking public debates, shifts, and nomenclature in the immigrant policy landscape. A good understanding of the myriad terminologies associated with immigration, although not limited to these, can better guide people in comprehending news relating to immigration.
Highlighting in detail are ten key terminologies that one must be acquainted with. First, the term ‘Migrant’ represents an individual who relocates fairly long distances from their birthplace. The specific scenarios of migrants can be described using different terms. International migrants are one category, referring to those relocating from one country to another – legal permission, at times, might be lacking.
There also exist seasonal or circulatory migrants who navigate between contrasting locations regularly. A substantial segment of all migrants, between 30% and 60% to be specific, eventually retrace their path back to their birthplaces. ‘Immigrants’ constitutes the second term in our list.
The words ‘immigrants’ and ‘migrants’ are commonly assumed to be synonymous. However, ‘migration’ denotes all-encompassing movement, while by ‘immigration’, it is inferred to the act of a non-citizen establishing a dwelling in a foreign country. Thirdly, there are terminologies depicting migrants in the area without the appropriate legal paperwork.
Undocumented immigrants, unauthorized immigrants, and illegal immigrants are politically laden terms referencing the same situation of migrants who either unlawfully enter or overstay beyond the permitted duration of their visa in a foreign country. Transitioning to the fourth term ‘Asylum Seekers’.
An asylum seeker is an individual who turns up at a U.S. entry point such as an airport or border crossing and petitions for protection, citing fears of returning to their original country. Fifth, we have ‘Refugees’, who are akin to asylum seekers but submit their resettlement applications while still overseas. The Biden administration had a set limit for accepting up to 125,000 refugees per annum.
‘Unaccompanied Children’ is next; a term classified by the U.S. government for migrant children that enter the U.S. without a parent or guardian, lacking the required legal documents or eligibility to be in the country. The next phrase to consider is ‘Family separation’. The initial Trump administration saw this tactic being implemented at the border in a bid to curtail immigration.
‘Immigration detention’, another term, points towards the practice of the U.S. government apprehending unauthorized immigrants in the country and keeping them in facilities akin to prisons. ‘Coyote’ stands as the ninth term – a Spanish word describing a guide hired by migrants and asylum seekers to safely escort them to their destination, evading detection by law authorities.
Lastly, we have the varied government bodies involved in this complex machinery. Among these are the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), tasked with imposing import duties, passport controls, document checks at airports, ports, and official entry points. The Border Patrol forms part of CBP, responsible for patrolling and securing U.S. frontiers and ports.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), operates within the U.S. borders, focusing primarily on the detention and deportation of intra-state immigrants. Caring for unaccompanied minors after their country entry falls under the purview of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).