Every day, people make the difficult decision to leave their home countries behind. Whether or not these people will receive protection from discrimination and persecution in their new communities depends largely on their reasons for leaving home.
Right now, 68 million of the world's 250 million immigrants are fleeing persecution, political unrest and war in their home countries. They are considered “refugees” and “asylum seekers.” According to the International Rescue Committee, “a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her home because of war, violence or persecution, often without warning.” Refugees don’t know when, if ever, they will be able to return home. Government organizations, like the United Nations Refugee Agency, must determine whether or not a person can obtain official refugee status in order to receive international protection and aid from other countries. By contrast, the ICR defines an “asylum seeker” as “someone who is also seeking international protection from dangers in his or her home country, but whose claim for refugee status hasn’t been determined legally.” Unlike refugees, asylum seekers cannot receive any outside protection or help until they cross the border into their destination country. Once in their destination country, asylum seekers must be able to prove that they meet the criteria to be covered by refugee protections. According to U.S.
