Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. In politics, the term may imply a larger set of social issues and time constraints with disputed consequences in areas such as economy, social welfare, education, health care, slavery, prostitution, crime, legal protections, voting rights, public services, and human rights. Illegal emigration, in contrast, refers to unlawfully leaving a country.

Terminology

• illegal immigrant (mostly in the UK)Call for illegal immigrant study at http://news.bbc.co.uk (accessed Aug, 2006)
• undocumented immigrant
• clandestine workers
• sans papiers/"sin papeles"

• Irregular immigration

United States

Main: Illegal immigration to the United States#Terminology Terms used in the United States include:

• illegal alien
• illegal immigrant
• undocumented immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident
• unauthorized immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident
• paperless immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident
• immigrant "without immigration status"
• out of status
• unnaturalized immigrant
• irregular immigrant

Other

• boat people

War

One reason for illegal immigration is to escape civil war or repression in the country of origin. For example, people in Germany that were considered minorities fled their country in fear that they would be oppressed and arrested. Non-economic push factors include persecution (religious and otherwise), frequent abuse, bullying, oppression, and genocide, and risks to civilians during war. Political motives traditionally motivate refugee flows - to escape dictatorship for instance.

After decades of armed conflict, roughly one of every 10 Colombians now lives abroad. For example, Colombians emigrating to Spain have "grown exponentially, from a little over 7,000 in 1993 to more than 80,000 in 2002 and 244,000 in 2003." Pilar Marrero, Immigration Shift: Many Latin Americans Choosing Spain Over U.S. Pacific News Service, December 9, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-09-02. This is equivalent to 124,000 Colombian immigrants in year 2003 into Spain alone. Also, figures from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicate that Colombia is the fourth-leading source country of unauthorized immigration to the United States. According to its estimates, the number of unauthorized Colombian residents in the United States almost tripled from 51,000 in 1990 to 141,000 in 2000.