Sociology Midterm 2: Classes 19 and 20

Forcibly Displaced People

An umbrella term for individuals who must flee their homes due to conflict, violence, or persecution, differing from mgrants who choose to move as an option.

Refugee

A person with a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on race, religion, national origin, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. They have recognized protected status under international law.

Asylum Seeker

Someone seeking protected status in a host country but whose claim has not yet been legally adjudictaed. Unlike refugees, they must usually gain access to the host country to request asylum directly.

Internally Displaced Person

Someone who has been forced to flee their home but remains within their country’s borders

Refugee as a Socially Constructed Category

The idea that labels like “refugee”, “guest”, or “asylum seeker” are assigned by states and can vary for the same individual depending on the country they enter.

1980 Refugee Act

US legislation that adopted the international definition of a refugee and established a permanent procedure for admitting them.

US Refugee Admissions Program

The system that manages refugee entries; determinations are made outside the US, and individuals must undergo UNHCR registration and vetting before arrival.

Affirmative Asylum

A process where a person already legally present in the US proactively applies for asylum.

Defensive Asylum

A process where an undocumented person in removal proceedings petitions for asylum as a defense against being removed.

Arriving Asylum

When a person requests asylum immediately upon reaching a US border or port of entry.

Temporary Protected Status

A time limited permission to live and work in the US for nationals of countries deemed unsafe by the DHS; it does not provide a direct path to citizenship.

Humanitarian Parole

Temporary permission to enter the US for “urgent humanitarian reasons”, typically lasting up to two years and requiring a financial supporter.

Third Country Settlement

A process where a person flees from their home, arrives in a neighboring country, and is eventually resettled in a final host country.

Offshoring/Externalizing Borders

The practice of processing refugee claims or holding displaced persons in a third country to prevent them from reaching the host nation’s territory.

Context of Reception

The specific conditions, like government assistance, legal status and local atiitudes, that greet a refugee upon arrival, which significantly impact their ability to integrate.

Realist Appraoch to Refugees

An academic perspective that focuses on the lived experiences of individuals fleeing violence, regardless of their official legal label or status.

Critical Approach to Refugees

The arugment that a “crisis” is often a social construct used by high-income countries to distract from their own role in the global violence or decolonization struggles that caused the displacement.

Resettlement Ceiling

The maximum number of refugees the President authorizes for admission in a fiscal year.

Travel Bans

Executive orders restricting or suspending entry for nationals, including refugees, from specific countries.

TPS Revocations

Recent administrative actions to end the Temporary Protected Status designations for countries like Venezuela, Haiti, and Afghanistan.