immigration
Americannoun
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the movement of non-native people into a country in order to settle there
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the part of a port, airport, etc where government employees examine the passports, visas, etc of foreign nationals entering the country
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of immigration
Explanation
Immigration is the process of moving to a new country to stay. New York's Ellis Island was considered a gateway for European immigration to the United States during the early 1900's. Nowadays, people immigrate through airports instead of islands. The word migration is in immigration, which is something we think of birds doing when they fly South for the winter. It's not an accident — if American birds had little passports, they'd have to go through immigration when they got to Mexico. When humans immigrate, they have to follow the rules of the new country or else they risk getting in trouble. Immigration is the act of going to a new country, while emigration refers to the process of leaving one.
Vocabulary lists containing immigration
Human Geography - Middle School
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The United States
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Human Geography - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My analogy is that it’s a little bit like Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026
Southern California, a key market for El Tri, was among the first areas inundated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local police agencies.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
Protesters descended on Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, N.J., this weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
“What if Immigration is giving him a hard time? Or maybe they are going through his bags in Customs?”
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
