Immigration

Tough Questions, Direct Answers

Dale Hanson Bourke

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780830879656
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

How can we be sure terrorists aren't entering our country?What does it mean to be a citizen?Do immigrants help or hurt the economy?What's wrong with calling someone an illegal immigrant?In this Skeptic's Guide™ Dale Hanson Bourke sheds light on key terms and concepts, historical events and current concerns that drive the immigration debate. Such a complex issue offers no easy answers, but with charts and photos, facts and quotes, this dynamic guide sheds light without adding heat to the most important questions—a hallmark of the Skeptic's Guide series, making it a valuable resource for individuals and groups.

1. Defining Terms

Even though immigration is a hot topic, there is a great deal of confusion about some of the basic terms associated with it. Here are some of the most important terms used in the immigration debate.

Who is an immigrant?

An immigrant is a person who has left the land of his or her birth and moved to another country with the intention of settling there. Such a person may also be called “foreign born,” a term that some people consider to have less stigma than immigrant.

An immigrant can be a naturalized citizen, a lawful permanent resident (LPR), a refugee or asylum seeker, or someone who is unauthorized. Generally, those entering the country or remaining in the country are either immigrating legally or illegally.

What is the difference between emigration and immigration?

A person emigrates from a country of origin and immigrates to another country. The words describe the same act but from different perspectives. Migration is the word that describes the movement of people and encompasses emigration and immigration.

Syrian children now going to school in Lebanon. (image credit)

Emigration generally refers to a voluntary leaving, although people tend to leave countries because of hardship of some kind and move to countries where there is a chance of living a life of fewer difficulties. Involuntary emigration is involved in situations such as ethnic cleansing or population transfer.

Why do people migrate?

People move from one country or one region to another for many reasons. Some are seeking employment or a better standard of living for their family. Many are fleeing natural disaster (such as the potato famine in the 1800s that brought many Irish families to America) while others are escaping wars or a repressive government.

Many people migrate in order to join other family members or so their children can be born in a country where they will have a better future. Some come to have the opportunity for a better or more advanced education than is available in their home country. Some people visit and then decide to stay.

Why are immigrants sometimes called “aliens”?

Alien is a legal term for a person living in a country in which he or she is not a citizen. A legal alien is a person from another country who holds a visa or other documentation making it legal to be in the country. A resident alien has documents proving that the person is allowed to reside legally in the country. A nonresident alien is a person who is legally visiting (but not residing in) the country.

Albert Einstein becomes a U.S. citizen in 1940. (image credit)

An undocumented alien is a person who does not have legal standing to stay in the country either as a visitor or resident; these immigrants are considered deportable. An enemy alien is a citizen of a country considered to be an enemy of the country in which he or she is visiting or residing.

What’s wrong with calling someone an “illegal immigrant”?

Although it is a commonly used description for a foreign born person who is undocumented, many people consider the terms illegal immigrant and illegal alien to be dehumanizing. Any person in the United States is a legal person and is protected under the law. Citizens who break the law, for example, remain legal persons despite having committed illegal acts. Similarly, a person who has violated immigration requirements—who entered the country without proper paperwork, or used forged or stolen documents, or overstayed a visa—is still a legal person under the law.

Under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, neither the federal government nor state governments may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This part of the Constitution is called the “equal protection” clause because it protects all human beings from being treated as less than a legal person.

The term illegal immigrant is no longer used in most media. Calling a person an “undocumented immigrant” is a more accurate way to describe someone who resides in a country without proper documentation.

What does it mean to be undocumented?

In the United States, a person may be called upon in certain cases to prove citizenship, lawful permanent resident status or legal visitor status. In order to prove U.S. citizenship, the person must have a birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship (for a person born abroad to U.S. citizens), a U.S. passport or a naturalization certificate.

The term undocumented usually refers to a person’s immigration status and means that he or she does not possess documents to prove legal residence or citizenship.

Many countries issue a national identity card or current visa as documentation. The United States doesn’t have a national identity card. Other documents that prove a person is in the United States legally include a foreign passport with a valid, unexpired U.S. visa, a permanent resident card (sometimes called a “green card”) or an employment authorization card. Generally, neither driver’s licenses nor Social Security cards can be used as proof of legal residency.

What does it mean to be “out of status”?

A person who is “out of status” in the immigration system is usually in possession of an expired document and therefore no longer considered to be documented; he or she is residing illegally in the country. One of the most common examples is when a person enters the United States on a student visa and then either leaves school or graduates. The terms of the visa require that person—no longer a student—to leave the country or apply for a different type of visa. People in this category are also called “overstays.”

Who are refugees?

Refugees are people outside their home country because they are fleeing war or natural disaster, or because they fear persecution based on their race, religion, nationality or political opinion. The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there were 11.1 million refugees in the world at the beginning of 2013.1 While the United Nations designates refugee status under international law, individual countries decide how to recognize refugees and whether they are eligible to be resettled within the country.

Refugees arrive in Seattle to be resettled by World Relief. (image credit)

Although most cases are considered on an individual basis, sometimes in the case of a mass exodus because of war or persecution, the UNHCR will grant a people group refugee status. Individual countries may then make exceptions to their immigration policies in order to help accommodate the specific group of people.

What is a refugee resettlement agency?

Many countries have specific agencies that help refugees resettle and integrate, assisting them with language skills, jobs and other needs.

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration’s Reception and Placement Program (R&P) places refugees arriving in the United States with an approved private voluntary agency that oversees the transition of the refugee, especially during the first ninety days.

Refugee Resettlement Chart. U.S. Government Accountability Office

National agencies in the United States include Church World Service (CWS), Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), Ethiopian Commu...