Just Facts

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Overview and Definitions
General

* An immigrant is “a person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another.”[1]

* In the context of immigration, the legal terms “foreign national” and “alien” refer to people who are not citizens of the nations where they are residing or visiting.[2] [3] [4] [5]

* In the United States, immigrants can be classified into three broad categories:

    Citizens[6]
    Non-citizens who live in the U.S. legally[7]
    Non-citizens who live in the U.S. illegally[8]

* The U.S. allows visitors and temporary residents from other nations to stay in the United States for certain periods, but they are not immigrants because their stay in the U.S. is temporary.[9] [10]

* Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the federal agency that “enforces federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration to promote homeland security and public safety.”[11]

* U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the federal agency that “oversees lawful immigration to the United States.[12]

* ICE and USCIS are divisions of the Department of Homeland Security, which is under the authority of the U.S. President.[13] [14] [15]

* Before 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service carried out the functions of both ICE and USCIS.[16]


https://www.justfacts.com/immigration.asp