Immigrant and Refugee Literature

These flashcards cover key terminology and concepts related to immigrant and refugee literature, relevant historical events, and policies affecting immigrants in the United States.

Immigrant

A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

Refugee

A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

Naturalization

The process by which a non-citizen in a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country.

Asylum Status

A form of international protection given to individuals in the U.S. due to fear of persecution in their home country.

Bracero Program

A series of laws and diplomatic agreements between the United States and Mexico that allowed temporary laborers from Mexico to work in the U.S.

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)

A policy that allows some individuals who came to the U.S. as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation.

Model Minority

A demographic group whose members achieve a higher degree of success than the population average, often used to describe Asian Americans in the United States.

Executive Order 9066

An order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, allowing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Civil Liberties Act of 1988

A U.S. federal law that provided reparations to Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II.

Cultural identity

The identity or feeling of belonging to a group based on various cultural categories, such as nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion.