Semantics matter. And those coming from other countries to permanently change their domicile—legally or illegally—are immigrants, not migrants. These two words sometimes have legal significance and journalistically must not be conflated.
Although migrants may sometimes cross international borders—legally or illegally—they are those who move about in pursuit of seasonal labor and who do not change their more-or-less permanent domicile.
These two terms are often conflated by my favorite journalists like Lara Logan as well as by immigration officials like Mark Morgan—former Customs and Border Control Commissioner under President Trump. I often see and hear both terms used in the same article interchangeably without accurate distinction.
I have heard both Texas Governor, Greg Abbott as well as his AG, Ken Paxton conflate these terms in the same interview. This is uncharacteristically sloppy for two politicians who are trained attorneys. As an appellate judge friend of mine once railed against a young attorney who complained that his opponent merely stated a mouthful of semantics, “The whole damn law is semantics. Semantics is your job.”
And I suppose that it is possible for one to be both and immigrant and a migrant. Hence the proper usage of these terms would be context dependent.
Animals—since they do not acknowledge human constructs such as nation states—are not assumed to immigrate, however many species are ferociously territorial and observe well-defined borders. I don’t not how to sort this one. I have not encountered immigrant or immigration applied to non human animals
To impart a little humor: A Canadian Goose, although he flies to the Texas coastline to perform seasonal labor (of a sort) does not become a Texan Goose. Therefore, he is a migrant. He does not change his country of domicile… He is not an immigrant.
... does not become a Texan Goose. 😆 🤣 👌