Generally, a refugee is a person
who has fled his/her country because of fear of persecution. U.S.
The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted in
Geneva in 1951, defines a "refugee" as a person who:
owing to a well
founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political
opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable
or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the
protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality
and being outside the country of his former habitual residence
as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear,
is unwilling to return to it.
Though the language varies somewhat,
U.S. law incorporates the refugee definition contained in the
Convention. Specifically, Section 101(a)(42)(A) of the U.S. Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA) defines a "refugee" as:
Any person who
is outside any country of such person's nationality or, in the
case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country
in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable
or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail
himself or herself of the protection of, that country because
of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account
of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion.
As
a signatory to the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees,
the United States is obliged not to return refugees to their native
countries. Furthermore, under the Immigration and Nationality
Act (INA), a person seeking protection from persecution may apply
for refugee status in the United States.
