In the 2003 pastoral letter, “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops provided the following definitions.
Asylee:
See Refugee, below. The definition conforms to that of a refugee except regarding the location of the person upon application for asylum: The asylee applies for protection in the country of asylum, whereas the refugee applies for status in either his or her home country (under certain circumstances) or in a country of temporary asylum.
Globalization: The process whereby the world’s goods, communications, and peoples are more fully integrated, accessible, and interdependent.
Immigrant: A person who moves to another country to take up permanent residence.
Legal Immigrant: A person who has been admitted to reside and work on a permanent basis in the United States; admission is most commonly based on reunification with close family members or employment.
Migrant: A person on the move, either voluntarily or involuntarily, in the person’s own country, internationally, or both. Unlike refugees, migrants are commonly considered free to return home whenever they wish because their lives are not in danger there.
Refugee: Any person, who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling, to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his or her habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it (source: United Nations International Law).
Undocumented immigrant: A person who is in a country without the permission of that country’s government. Such persons are called “undocumented” because they lack the required paperwork.
