I am emmigrating v2.0

It’s All in the Perspective

Immigration and emigration come into English from Latin. Immigration is from immigrare, “to go into” (im + migrare) and emigration is from emigrare, “to move” (ex + migrare). Thus you may be able to guess that immigration and emigration actually refer to exactly the same action from two diametrically opposed perspectives:

Emigration: the act of leaving one’s homeland or country to settle in another. Emigration views the action from the perspective of the person’s origins. Here is an example:

Emigration is prompted by a variety of factors, as people leave their country in order to flee a war, find education or job opportunities, or join their family in another land.

Immigration: the act of coming to and settling in a new homeland or country from one’s original homeland or country. Immigration views the same action from the perspective of the person’s new home. Here is an example:

Immigration is more or less tightly controlled by host countries, who may be concerned about the effects of a large population influx or wish to achieve some kind of mix of incoming residents, or alternatively, provide a haven for a people or group suffering some kind of intense need.