Difference Between Immigrant And Refugee

Decent Essays
Refugees and Immigrants Research Paper
Many people believe that refugees and immigrants are the same, but, these two groups of people are very different. “An immigrant is someone who chooses to resettle in another country… A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her home country.” ("What's the Difference between Immigrant and Refugee? - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.). This difference is something that many people do not understand in today's world. People think that an immigrant and refugee come from the same background and are relocating for the same reason but, that is where they are wrong. The experience between an immigrant and a refugee when relocating is often times different because of their journey,
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This is even more prevalent when talking about refugees. Refugees face massive amounts of prejudice for many reasons. One of these reasons is because of where they come from. Because many refugees come from the middle east to North America, many of them may face prejudice from the people of America for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons may include race, religion or political views. However, when immigrants from areas of Mexico and South America to North America, they typically face much less prejudice. This may be because of their close proximity to North America, or the fact that there are already millions of immigrants living in areas of North America. According to the American Immigration Council, only 70,000 refugees were admitted to the United States in 2015 ("An Overview of U.S. Refugee Law and Policy." An Overview of U.S. Refugee Law and Policy. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.). This is a small fraction compared to the number of immigrants entering the United States every year. It can leave this much smaller group open to more discrimination and prejudice in their new society. However, these groups are not all different, they are similar in the fact that they both must adapt to their new …show more content…
This is especially true in the case of immigrants and refugees. Both of these groups must change or adapt in order to function as an active member of their new society. This can be very difficult, especially when coming from a culture that is extremely different from the one that the refugee or immigrant is relocating to. For example, Mexico to America or the middle east to America. A personal interview with an immigrant from Honduras shows how she needed to adapt when she says this “In Honduras you always have small talk with people at the supermarket or any public place, but, in the United States, people think you are weird if you talk to them or greet them in passing aisles and don’t know them.” Suyapa, B. (2016, December 16). Personal interview. This difference between cultures forced her to make an adjustment to her life. She had to adapt to the new ideologies and the new way of life in America, being an immigrant from Honduras. In conclusion, both whether it’s an immigrant or a refugee, one must make an adjustment to their life and adapt to their new home.
Refugees and immigrants have many similarities and differences, including their experiences when they are relocating, and in the prejudice they face. They are similar in the because both groups need to adapt to their new culture. Both refugees and immigrants are looking to improve the situation they are in and may travel thousands of miles to find it. Each group struggles

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