Who is an immigrant?
Who is an immigrant? Who decides? In my book I have tried to answer
this question. Of course, it depends on who you ask. To be an
"immigrant" is to have a legally protected status. To be a "migrant"
does not. Who decides and how varies from country to country.
In any event, when a person arrives at a "migrant detention centre" he or she is interviewed by UNHCR officials. He or she is asked for his or her story and his or her documents, proof of identity. Only after careful interviews do the UNCHR officials designate a person a "refugee." A "refugee" has the right to seek asylum in a country other than their country of origin. A "refugee" is not a person seeking "political asylum." A person asking for "political asylum" may seek the right to "immigrate" due to fear of persecution in their home country, for example Christians from Iran.
In any event, when a person arrives at a "migrant detention centre" he or she is interviewed by UNHCR officials. He or she is asked for his or her story and his or her documents, proof of identity. Only after careful interviews do the UNCHR officials designate a person a "refugee." A "refugee" has the right to seek asylum in a country other than their country of origin. A "refugee" is not a person seeking "political asylum." A person asking for "political asylum" may seek the right to "immigrate" due to fear of persecution in their home country, for example Christians from Iran.
"Migrants" in a detention centre (what might be called refugee centers)
are also screened for physical illness. They are also registered with
the International Organization for Migration. IOM.
"Migrants" are often sent back to their country of origin, since their claim is not based on having suffered loss in a war or being in danger from their own government. If a person cannot prove that their life is in danger if they return to their home country they are usually sent back. Economic migration is a different issue.
A "refugee" does not become an "immigrant" until he or she has cleared many hurtles: screening for identity, health screening, etc. After a person is designated a "refugee" he or she may approach an organization representing a country. For instance a "refugee" might approach a US RSC (Resettlement Support Center)." The applicant "refugee," potential "immigrant," must go through all the same steps of having the identity checked, biometric fingerprinting and photographs, health checks, etc.
If approved for the immigration track, this individual must be invited by an agency in the US, which will support them. Two organizations which do this are: Church World Service and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
No one enters the US as a bona fide (true) "immigrant" who has not navigated this long process and been thoroughly vetted. The US "immigrant" vetting process, apart from the vetting process of the UNHCR in the "Migrant detention centre," takes at least one year and often longer. No one enters the US without an inviting agency in the US. That agency promises to help the "immigrant" resettle. Any "immigrant" can be expelled from the process at any time and in the end even denied entry at a US Border.
Those who cross borders illegally are not considered "immigrants" by any government I know of. They are considered at best "migrants" until they have proved to the UNHCR that they are true "refugees" or people seeking political asylum.
"Migrants" are often sent back to their country of origin, since their claim is not based on having suffered loss in a war or being in danger from their own government. If a person cannot prove that their life is in danger if they return to their home country they are usually sent back. Economic migration is a different issue.
A "refugee" does not become an "immigrant" until he or she has cleared many hurtles: screening for identity, health screening, etc. After a person is designated a "refugee" he or she may approach an organization representing a country. For instance a "refugee" might approach a US RSC (Resettlement Support Center)." The applicant "refugee," potential "immigrant," must go through all the same steps of having the identity checked, biometric fingerprinting and photographs, health checks, etc.
If approved for the immigration track, this individual must be invited by an agency in the US, which will support them. Two organizations which do this are: Church World Service and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
No one enters the US as a bona fide (true) "immigrant" who has not navigated this long process and been thoroughly vetted. The US "immigrant" vetting process, apart from the vetting process of the UNHCR in the "Migrant detention centre," takes at least one year and often longer. No one enters the US without an inviting agency in the US. That agency promises to help the "immigrant" resettle. Any "immigrant" can be expelled from the process at any time and in the end even denied entry at a US Border.
Those who cross borders illegally are not considered "immigrants" by any government I know of. They are considered at best "migrants" until they have proved to the UNHCR that they are true "refugees" or people seeking political asylum.
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