What Is Immigration?

The word immigration began popular use in the mid-17th century and is a modified form of the word "migration," which comes from the Latin "migratus," meaning "to move from place to place." The difference between migrants and immigrants is that immigrants tend to go through a formal process to be lawfully accepted into the new country. One topic of much debate is illegal immigration, where people settle into a new country without the approval of the local or federal governing authorities.