refoulement

noun

re·​foule·​ment rə-ˌfül-ˈmän 

: the act of forcing a refugee or asylum seeker to return to a country or territory where he or she is likely to face persecution

Since 1980, United States law has defined refugees as people with a "well-founded fear of persecutions" in their home country and thus entitled to sanctuary or political asylum. To send them home would risk committing the diplomatic sin of refoulement—forcibly subjecting them to peril.

—The New York Times

see also non-refoulement

Examples of refoulement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While such refoulement is prohibited under international law, thousands of pushbacks have been reported in the Aegean Sea, strandings just like the one in which the Evros Thirty-eight found themselves. —Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025

After sham legal proceedings, the detainees have been handed over to Turkey, in clear violation of international law that forbids refoulement to a country where a detainee may face ill treatment. —Nate Schenkkan, Foreign Affairs, 27 May 2021

Legal experts argue that these actions violate international laws against refoulement, or the return of migrants to unsafe places. —Ian Urbina, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2021

The forcible return of the migrants, a practice known as refoulement, has also put many of them in lethal danger on land, because of Libya’s civil war. —New York Times, 20 Mar. 2020

Escontrias, her lawyer, said Ricci was referred to a third non-refoulement interview during her hearing, which CBS News was barred from observing. —Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, literally, "turning away, rejection," going back to Middle French, from refouler "to force back, push in" (from re- re- + fouler "to crush, full (fabric)," going back to Old French) + -ment -ment — more at full entry 5

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing refoulement

• non-refoulement