immigration

American  

[im-i-grey-shuhn] / ˌɪm ɪˈgreɪ ʃən /

noun

• immigrations
  plural

1. the act of immigrating.

2. a group or number of immigrants.

---

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

---

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

Shaw has sidestepped concerns about immigration agents targeting schools as an issue outside of a school district’s jurisdiction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

While L.A.’s population has steadily grown for years, much of that growth is from immigration from abroad that has outweighed the number of people leaving.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Following a large influx of asylum seekers in Sweden in 2015, successive left- and right-wing governments have tightened asylum and immigration rules.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

The slowing flow of immigration is leaving home-care agencies, restaurants, and local governments racing to fill critical vacancies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Before I board the plane, an immigration officer peers inside my suitcase.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025

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

Mattoo said at the time that immigrations officials gave her no reason but told her she would not be able to travel internationally.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2022

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

From BBC ● May 5, 2022

These immigrations of political prisoners are of great importance.

From Patrician and Plebeian Or The Origin and Development of the Social Classes of the Old Dominion by Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker

Related Words

• exodus
• migration
• travel