There are a lot of difficult issues around the topics of refugees and immigration. It feels risky to bring them up in a public context, but I believe they are important to talk about. My desire is to share some of the related things I am learning on this blog, recognizing I have much more to learn and understand. This is not for the sake of expressing my opinions, but for the purpose of healthy conversation. I would love to hear your thoughts and receive correction where necessary.
Can you define what it means to be a refugee or asylum seeker? We see and hear plenty of immigration-related stories in the news, but many of us would be hard-pressed to give a clear, concise definition to the categorical terms we hear.
A migrant is a person outside of their home country. There are nearly 300 million people around the world who fall into this category, and there are a wide variety of reasons for their movement from one country to another.
A forcibly-displaced person (FDP) is someone who has had to flee to their home due to war, persecution, or some other human-caused violation of human rights. There are currently about 110 million people who classify as an FDP.
A refugee is an FDP who has had to flee their country. They are determined to have a well-founded fear and are unable to return because of life-threatening circumstances. Some end up in refugee camps for a period of time (sometimes decades!). There are currently about 35 million refugees around the world. A very small selection, 25,465 in total, were resettled in the U.S. in 2022.
An asylum seeker is an FDP who has left their home country and is requesting permanent refuge in another country upon arrival or from within it. If granted, the person is typically referred to as an asylee in the U.S., with similar status as a refugee in terms of documentation and government support.
None of these categories discriminate based on age. Children are included. Some may become a refugee as a child and may not be resettled into a country where they can establish permanent residence until they are well into adulthood.
Refugees in the U.S. have been invited by the government; they are provided some level of special services and support by the government for up to five years; they have documentation allowing them permanent residence and full opportunity for education and employment, and they can eventually apply for citizenship.
If you are itching to learn more, check out these pages:
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