Migrant, Refugee, Asylum Seeker: Who’s who in international protection obligations
What’s in a name? For refugees and asylum seekers, it’s their human rights protections and the international community’s obligation to uphold those rights.
Within the context of cross-border migration, the distinction between migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers is those who need, and are owed, international protection for persecution and those who are not. The three are often used interchangeably in political, media, and public discourses, but when someone’s life or liberty is at stake, it is imperative to understand and use the right word.
Who is a migrant?
Migrants are owed rights according to their country of citizenship and host country, as well as their human rights; refugees are owed additional rights and protections on top of the rights of migrants. A ‘migrant’ is not defined in international law, but, according to the United Nations, can be considered an umbrella term which includes:
“any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual place of residence, regardless of (1) the person’s legal status; (2) whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary; (3) what the causes for the movement are; or (4) what the length of the stay is.”
Under this umbrella term fall many different people, motivations, and movements. The term migrant can be used to describe a person who travels within their country or across the border, for a short period of time or for permanent relocation, for reasons of family reunification, tourism, employment, medical procedure, or to flee threats such as violence or natural disasters.
Migrants largely do not enjoy specific protections under international law, and existing laws to protect migrants are further categorized into smaller protection needs, such as migrant workers or smuggled migrants. So while all refugees and asylum seekers are migrants, not all migrants are refugees or asylum seekers.
Who is a refugee?
The definition of a refugee is much more precise. A refugee is defined by the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol as someone who:
“owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”
This definition is accepted by all countries who ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and should be codified within their national laws. For example, the United States Congress codified the Refugee Convention into the U.S. Refugee Act of 1981.
Regional and national definitions provide additional concerns for specific needs of the area. For example, some countries in the European Union and the United States include gender as a ground for persecution. Law professors at the University of New South Wales Jane McAdam and Tamara Wood explain that regional agreements in Africa and Latin America “extend the scope of the term ‘refugee’ to people fleeing more generalized and indiscriminate forms of harm, including events seriously disturbing public order and serious violations of human rights.”
Also, protection needs may change, and migrants may become refugees after they have already migrated. McAdam and Wood explain:
“Those who migrate in search of work or study opportunities may later become refugees — for example, if conditions in their country of origin change while abroad (creating refugees sur place). Refugees who have fled their homes may use labour or other migration pathways as they search for protection and lasting solutions.”
Who is an asylum seeker?
The terms ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum seeker’ are often used interchangeably. But internationally and in the U.S., their exact meanings differ.
Internationally, an asylum seeker is someone “who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in another country, but who hasn’t yet been legally recognized as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on their asylum claim.” This legal recognition of a refugee is called refugee status determination (RSD), and is granted by governments or the UNHCR. Once an asylum seeker is granted their RSD, then they are eligible to be resettled as a refugee. To understand the process, UNHCR explains that “not every asylum-seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee, but every refugee was initially an asylum-seeker.”
In the United States, refugees and asylum seekers are defined very differently — depending upon where they are when they request protection from the government. Both are persons fleeing persecution due to the Refugee Convention definition. However, refugees are outside of the U.S. when they request protection. Whereas asylum seekers (a.k.a ‘asylees’) are are already in the U.S. or at a border or port of entry where they request protection.
Why words matter
In today’s anti-immigrant world, labeling refugees and asylum seekers as “migrants” encourages violence, racism, and xenophobia against them on their migration routes and in their host countries. The label “migrant” ignores that refugees and asylum seekers need — and are entitled to — international protection from persecution back home. For this reason, many organizations define migrants as people who are not refugees or asylum seekers.
As fewer people understand the difference between migrants and refugees and asylum seekers, combined with a growing anti-immigrant culture, the very protections for refugees and asylum seekers are put at risk. For example, U.S. pushback policies, such as ‘Remain in Mexico’ and Title 42, destroyed the right to asylum — and human rights-based immigration legislation reform seems like a fever dream.
In today’s highly anti-immigrant climate, our words matter. Choosing a vocabulary that upholds human rights can help change the tide of anti-immigrant discourse.
