immigration

noun

im·​mi·​gra·​tion ˌi-mə-ˈgrā-shən 

plural immigrations

: an act or instance of immigrating

specifically : travel into a country for the purpose of permanent residence there

Especially during these months when there has been constant talk of immigration and its myriad challenges, both here and on European national borders …

—Bob Greene

illegal/legal immigration

immigration reform/policy/law

Drawing historical comparisons is always a fraught process, especially when the subject is as contentious as immigration.

—James Hannan

There is only a passing comment on Chinese and Japanese immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, plus a short section on the truly global wave of immigrants that swept into America after the Second World War …

—Nicholas Guyatt

The Middle Ages is the story of successive migrations and immigrations …

—Janet L. Nelson

immigrational

ˌi-mə-ˈgrā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

studied the region's immigrational history

Examples of immigration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Most questions were friendly and business-centric, but Marshall also gave his opinion on several polarizing issues, including federal immigration enforcement, tariffs and the war in Iran. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2026

The frontrunner is Marine Le Pen, who has worked for years to make her far-right party, the National Rally, more electable while campaigning on immigration, crime, and denunciation of an out-of-touch political class. — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Jeffries blamed Republican policies for making life unaffordable in South Florida, pointing to increases in gas prices and the costs of tariffs and immigration enforcement, which has left immigrant communities living in fear. — Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026

This could lead some developers to consider alternatives, such as the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which uses immigration to incentivize investment. — Jill Jones, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for immigration

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation