Immigration

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Immigration

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun

Pronunciation

im-ih-GRAY-shun  /ɪmɪˈɡreɪʃ(ə)n/

Definition

The action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country; the number of people immigrating; the government department that controls entry of people into a country.

Plain meaning

Immigration is the process or fact of people moving to live in a country they were not born in. You can talk about immigration as an action (immigration to the UK increased last year), as a process managed by government (immigration policy, immigration controls), or as a physical place (you pass through immigration at the airport). The word also names the government function of controlling who enters a country.

Register

Neutral as a process noun; politically charged in policy debates. Immigration policy, immigration control, and immigration reform are standard neutral terms in policy discourse, though the same words carry strong political valence in political rhetoric. The phrase immigration at the airport names the border control checkpoint in ordinary travel English.