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

Bill Lay, the owner of five restaurants in Key West, supports legal pathways for foreign workers, but believes current immigration laws should be respected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

By terminating that status, “we are losing a huge, essential part of our workforce,” said Lindsay Ray, executive director of Amigos Center, which provides immigration legal services in Fort Myers, Fla.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Rejecting an appeal by the family, Migration Court of Appeal documents state "when weighing up the state's interest in regulated immigration" and Mason's "private life", it determined expulsion was "proportionate".

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Starting in early 2025, Salisbury oversaw the unprecedented reassignment of more than 6,000 agents to immigration enforcement, diverting most of the agency from its normal duties.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

I stood up and followed the immigration officer out of the classroom and into his car marked “Border Patrol.”

From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" 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

But now parts of Los Angeles have erupted in protests after immigrations officers intensified their raids at workplaces.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025

It noted that illegal crossings were still down 27% from July 2022 and were well below the days that preceded the new immigrations rules.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2023

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

It must be borne in mind that many thousands of people, men, women, and children, came to Oregon in the immigrations after 1846.

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

Related Words

• exodus
• migration
• travel