Important Announcements

Nondiscrimination Policy Update

Boston Medical Center Health System complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency and primary language), religion, culture, physical or mental disabilities, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression. BMCHS provides free aids and services to people with disabilities and free language services to people whose primary language is not English.

To read our full Nondiscrimination Statement, click here.

Im/migrant

Im/migrant

Adjective, Noun

A migrant is someone who moves temporarily to a new country while an immigrant is someone who will settle and stay permanently.

More specifically, migrant is an umbrella term, not defined under international law, reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who moves away from their place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. 

When someone enters the US without papers, referring to those people as undocumented immigrants, rather than illegal immigrants, promotes their humanity.

Source

Adapted from International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The Glossary for Culture Transformation is a living document to be revised on an annual basis.

Suggested Citation: Office of Equity, Vitality, and Inclusion, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, and Boston University Medical Group. Glossary for Culture Transformation. 2021.

For questions or suggestions, please email wordsmatter@bu.edu