immigration
noun
Immigration — the arrival and settlement of newcomers in a foreign land
Definition
Migration into a place (especially migration to a country of which you are not a native in order to settle there)
In depth
Immigration is migration into a place, especially migration to a country of which one is not a native, in order to settle there permanently. The word captures the perspective of arrival, the counterpart to emigration's perspective of departure, and carries significant contemporary political, legal, and social weight across virtually every nation.
Origin
The word descends from Latin immigrare, to move into, formed from in- (into) and migrare (to move or wander). Its prominence as one of the central organizing concepts of modern nation-states reflects how thoroughly the question of who may enter and settle within a defined territory has shaped both law and national identity over the past several centuries.
Usage examples
"Immigration policy remained one of the most contested political issues of the decade, debated fiercely across every level of government."
"Her grandparents' immigration to the country, decades earlier, had been documented in painstaking detail in the family's old papers."
"The city's character had been shaped, layer upon layer, by successive waves of immigration."
How to use it
Immigration is essential vocabulary across legal, political, sociological, and personal narrative writing, and given the word's significant contemporary political charge, writers should remain attentive to precision and fairness, particularly when discussing policy or individual experience.
Related concepts
Looking for a word but don't know its name?
Try the Word Finder →