Immigrant vs. Refugee
Words with related meanings are oftentimes misused or interchanged as their similarity
causes confusion to some people. This is the case with the terms immigrant and refugee
which both relate to people transferring from one country to another. Despite the similarity,
these two have different meanings and are not quite interchangeable. This post will help you
discover the difference between an immigrant and a refugee to help you use them more
accurately in your writing.
The word immigrant is mainly used as a noun referring to “a person who comes to a country
to take up permanent residence.” An immigrant is someone who chooses to resettle to
another country seeking better work opportunities and a better life. Immigrants are
processed under the receiving country’s immigration laws.
USCIS director who eliminated ‘nation of immigrants’ is the son of an immigrant
Washington Post
Immigrant accused of murders in Guatemala facing deportation
ABC News
Supreme Court Ruling Means Immigrants Could Continue To Be Detained Indefinitely
NPR
On the other hand, the term refugee functions as a noun pertaining to “a person who flees to
a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution” or “a person who has been
forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.” The
main difference between an immigrant and a refugee is that immigrants have a choice to
leave their country to seek opportunities elsewhere while refugees are forced to leave
because of circumstances.
Australia Is Still Waiting for the U.S. to Fulfill Its Pledge to Accept Refugees
TIME
How to overcome religious prejudice among refugees
The Conversation UK
Syrian refugee’s guitar opens doors to new life in Belgium
Reuters
Now that we have distinguished between the words immigrant and refugee, you should be
able to use them correctly in your sentences. Remember that while both terms refer to
people transferring from one country to another, immigrants do it by choice while refugees
are forced to do so due to circumstances.