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

But the Supreme Court majority found that a 1996 law explicitly allows DHS to get information about citizenship and immigration from other federal agencies. — Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026

For too long, Washington failed to enforce our immigration laws, and the resulting chaos overwhelmed communities and strained resources nationwide. — Don Bacon, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2026

In Doral, businesses reported a 70% drop in sales due to empty streets because of immigration raids. — Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026

Businesses, capital and families are increasingly international, while immigration and travel rules remain subject to changing national policies. — Jean Francois Harvey, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 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