immigration

American  

[im-i-grey-shuhn] / ˌɪm ɪˈgreɪ ʃən /

noun

• immigrations
  plural

1. the act of immigrating.

2. a group or number of immigrants.

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immigration British  

/ ˌɪmɪˈɡreɪʃən /

noun

1. the movement of non-native people into a country in order to settle there

2. the part of a port, airport, etc where government employees examine the passports, visas, etc of foreign nationals entering the country

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonimmigration
  noun
• preimmigration
  noun
• anti-immigration
  adjective
• immigrational
  adjective
• immigratory
  adjective
• proimmigration
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• immigrations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of immigration

First recorded in 1650–60; im- ¹ + migration

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

immigration immigrations

President Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met for an hour at Gracie Mansion to discuss the police department, housing and immigration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

And they can even do so largely on the same issues with which Trump won those voters: the cost of living, and immigration.

From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026

Then Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who had been leading the immigration operations in California, was among those outside the event, joined by agents in helmets, camouflage, masks and holding guns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

I mean: measles, food contamination, wars, Michael Cohen, climate, education, immigration, healthcare and post partum psychosis is more than enough.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

They pleaded with the immigration officer in charge to allow us to stay a few more days so that we could leave the country together.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

The move comes as local governments move to help immigrations caught up in the raids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025

“That has changed the culture of U.S. immigrations agencies.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 16, 2024

Beck-Mewing said rents were rebounding after many property owners dropped rents during COVID, and will likely to continue to increase in 2023 due to increased rental demand after immigrations allowances were raised by almost one-third.

From Reuters ● Dec. 19, 2022

Once the immigrations officers left, the crowd began to disperse.

From BBC ● May 5, 2022

It became rather a resting place and trading post, where the successive immigrations of 1844-'45-'46 and '47 halted for a little recuperation after their long and weary journey, before they passed forward to the Willamette.

From Dr. John McLoughlin, the Father of Oregon by Frederick Van Voorhies Holman

Related Words

• exodus
• migration
• travel