Definition of Migrant and Refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person fleeing armed persecution or conflict, violence, or other circumstances that have severely disrupted public order. The primary aim of a refugee is to seek international protection. According to Sengupta (2015), the refugees’ situation becomes more difficult and intolerable as they cross national borders. Thus, they are internationally recognized because their countries are too violent for them to return home. Refugee issues are such serious that they are protected in international law. For example, international law suggests that refugees should not return or be expelled to situations that threaten their life and freedom.
- Migrant
A migrant is a person who chooses to move from their home country to improve their life by finding jobs, education, family reunion, and other reasons. Migrants don’t move out of their countries because of a direct threat of death or persecution.
- Difference
The difference is that a refugee flees from their country for safety concerns, while a migrant move to improve their lives. Furthermore, unlike refugees who cannot return home due to safety concerns, migrants often return home safely.
The Difference Between an Internally Displaced Person and a Refugee
A refugee is a person who leaves their country of citizenship because they fear persecution over their religion, nationality, race, and other severe situations. While an internally displaced person also leaves their home for safety, they don’t cross a border. Thus, they remain within their country. A refugee’s and an internally displaced person’s reason for leaving might be the same. The government continues protecting an internally displaced person, even if it caused their suffering. In contrast, the government may not support refugees (its citizens) who left their country to seek safety in foreign countries.
Video and Article: Reasons for Migration or Seeking Asylum
The video suggests that people move from Central America to South Sahara America due to violence and poverty. In this sense, these people are migrants because they move from their home to improve their lives. The video reveals that Central American migration involves adult job seekers, families, and unaccompanied children. Lack of economic opportunities is the primary reason for migration as people move to improve their living standards. In this case, the US contributed to the migration by failing to provide Central Americans with equal economic opportunities.
On the other hand, the article suggests that 137,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Most of these people come from Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea. Therefore, since the people have crossed their countries’ borders, they are refugees. The people had to flee from their home countries because the governments failed to maintain peace and order, leading to insecurity.
Current Asylum Seeking Policies
Current asylum-seeking policies are fair and equitable because they focus on reducing migration. Glazer (2020) argues migration is increasing more than in 1970 worldwide, leading to a conflict about jobs and compliance. In this regard, immigration advocates believe that current asylum policies will prevent migrants from stealing jobs and abusing the asylum system. Although human rights advocates feel that nations are undermining their responsibility to ensure refugees’ and migrants’ safety and well-being, current asylum policies will enhance law and order in migration. For example, refugees who are denied asylum can return to their home countries after the violence is restored. In this way, nations will avoid unnecessary overpopulation that would result in conflict over economic opportunities.