The U.S. Immigration system is complex, and so is the vocabulary used to talk about it. We have created this glossary to help explain the words you may be hearing in the news so you can be better informed about what people experience as they move through the immigration system. This page is updated frequently with the most accurate and recent information.
Asylum: A form of protection that allows someone to stay in the United States instead of being sent (deported) to a country where they may face harm or persecution. An asylee is a person who has been granted asylum. A person seeking asylum or asylum seeker is someone who is already in the United States and seeking permission to remain in the United States.
Birthright citizenship: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and is the simple idea that if you are born in the United States, you are an American citizen. The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War to guarantee equality under the law, regardless of race or ancestry. The amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” The Fourteenth Amendment was enacted to overturn the Supreme Court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision, which declared that Black people born in the United States could never be citizens. The only exceptions to birthright citizenship are children of foreign diplomats and children of members of an invading army.
Citizenship: The status of being a citizen, having full rights and responsibilities as a member of the country.
Deportation or Removal: The legal action of forcing a noncitizen to leave a country. Once removed, a noncitizen faces legal bars for a time period that prevents their return. In some cases, they cannot return.
Detainee: A dehumanizing term frequently used to describe someone who is currently detained. We believe that human-first terms, like “detained person” or “person in immigration detention,” are best. Removing the humanity from our vocabulary only makes it easier to strip people in detention of their human rights.
Emigrant: Someone who leaves one country to live in another. Think of this in terms of direction: emigrants are exiting a country, while immigrants are entering a country. Someone who moves from the U.S. to Canada would be an emigrant from the U.S. but an immigrant to Canada.
Expedited removal: A legal process that allows the government to quickly remove noncitizens from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge. As of 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has expanded its use of expedited removal, raising grave concerns about due process, as expedited removal gives immigration officers broad authority in the removal of a noncitizen, allowing them to act both as prosecutor and judge.
Green card: Officially known as a Permanent Resident Card. This card allows you to live and work permanently in the United States.
“Illegals” or “illegal aliens”: Dehumanizing terms frequently used to describe people who are undocumented or unauthorized immigrants. These terms are dehumanizing because they cast people as inhuman outsiders and set stereotypes of criminal behavior. The term “illegal immigrant” implies that undocumented people have committed a crime, but entering the United States without inspection or overstaying one’s visa is not a crime; it is a civil violation.
Immigrant: A person who comes from one country to live permanently in another.
Immigration detention: Even though being undocumented or overstaying your visa is not a criminal offense (it is a civil violation), people who are waiting for the decision on their immigration status are often incarcerated in immigration detention. Immigration detention centers are primarily for-profit institutions with conditions similar to jails that are managed by the federal government, with support from states and localities. Rooted in systemic racism and xenophobia, immigration detention is an unjust expansion of the prison industrial complex. Most countries have some form of immigration incarceration, but the U.S. has the largest system in the world.
Lawful permanent resident: A person with a green card who can live and work permanently in the United States.
Naturalized citizenship: Naturalization refers to the legal process that allows a non-U.S.-born individual to become a U.S. Citizen. To apply for citizenship through naturalization, you must hold some form of legal status, such as being a lawful permanent resident, being married to a U.S. citizen or a child of a U.S. citizen, among others.
Refugee: A person seeking protection and a safe place to live outside their country of origin. Refugees are unable or unwilling to return because of harm or persecution. The difference between refugees and asylum seekers is that asylum seekers are physically present in the United States and seeking permission to remain in the United States, while refugees are outside the United States and are seeking resettlement.
Sanctuary City: Sanctuary Cities have local laws and practices that protect noncitizens who live there, despite what federal law says. This includes limiting local law enforcement’s involvement in federal detention and deportation efforts. This is possible under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, which upholds the balance of power between the federal government and the states. The courts have consistently ruled that federal actions intended to force local jurisdictions to perform immigration enforcement are unconstitutional.
Self deportation: The idea that noncitizens will leave the United States voluntarily. This term sounds innocent, as if noncitizens are making a choice of their own, but the reality behind the idea is to make life so unbearable that they have no choice but to leave. Tactics like denying work, education, transportation, and even basic services like water and housing to anyone who cannot prove legal immigration status undermine basic human rights. Self deportation does not guarantee that a removal will not be on your record, which could hurt your ability to re-enter the U.S. in the future.
Temporary Protected Status: A temporary immigration status provided to people from certain countries that are too unsafe to return to, due to things like armed conflict or environmental disaster. Temporary Protected Status has been a lifeline for millions of people.
Unaccompanied child: An unaccompanied child is defined under U.S. law as someone who is under the age of 18, entered the United States without lawful status, and arrived without an accompanying parent or legal guardian. Unaccompanied immigrant children arrive in the United States alone because they are fleeing violence, abuse, trafficking, or are seeking to reunite with their families. These children are not given court-appointed lawyers in the immigration court system, which puts them at risk of exploitation, trafficking, and rapid deportation back to harm if they are unable to find lawyers. Acacia Center for Justice connects thousands of kids with lawyers through the Unaccompanied Children Program.
Undocumented Immigrant: A person who resides in the United States without legal status. Many people in this category have open immigration cases, meaning they’re following sanctioned pathways in the hope of securing status.
Visa: An official document or stamp placed in your passport by a foreign country that gives you permission to enter, stay, or leave for a specific purpose and time.
Voluntary departure: A way for someone to agree to leave the United States at their own expense, instead of having a removal on their record, which may preserve their ability to re-enter the U.S. in the future. Voluntary departure is a formal, judge-approved legal process that avoids a removal record, while self-deportation does not.