undocumented immigrants
Migrants lacking papers
Undocumented immigrants are people living in a country without legal authorization—typically because they entered without inspection or overstayed a visa.
The term emerged as a neutral alternative to "illegal immigrants" or "illegal aliens," which critics consider dehumanizing.
Undocumented immigrants often work jobs that citizens avoid.
The phrase is standard in journalism and policy discussions, though some view it as euphemistic.
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
- wallVertical enclosing structure
- border crossingTransit between sovereign territories
- dreamersThose with ambitious visions
- sanctuary citiesMunicipalities limiting immigration enforcement cooperation
fear · expatriate · refugees · vulnerable populations · anchor baby · DACA · path to citizenship · shadow economy · stateless persons · migrant worker · work permit · detention · family separation · asylum seeker · remittances · coyote · visa · homeland
- immigrationvisa, refugee, citizenship, asylum, deportation
- migrationmigration, refugees, emigration, migrants, emigrant
- Mexican Immigrationbraceros, Mexican Americans, Tejanos, migrants, dreamers
- Americanspresidents, senators, governors, generals, authors
- demographicspopulation density, population growth, age distribution, population, gender ratio
- migrantsmigrants, arctic tern, monarch butterfly, caribou, humpback whale
undocumented immigrantsdocumented immigrants
Authorized foreign nationals with paperwork
green card holders · legal aliens · naturalized citizens · guest workers · permanent residents
undocumented immigrantscitizens
Members of a nation
nationals · natives · indigenous population · native population
document, documents, immigrant, documentary, documented, immigration, immigrate, documentation, documenting