refugee

A person seeking safety in another country due to the conditions in their own country. In the U.S., when applying for asylum or refugee-status, this person is often called an asylum-seeker. Under  U.S. law, a person seeking asylum must, by law, show:

1. a well-founded fear of persecution
2. on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group
3. that they are unwilling or unable to return to, or avail themselves of the protection of, their country of origin because of such fear.

According to the Boston College Law Review article, With Fear, favor, and flawed analysis: Decision-making in the U.S. Immigration Courts:

The persecution must be carried out by the government of their country of origin or by a person or group that the government is unwilling or unable to control. If the applicant could avoid harm by relocating elsewhere in their country, and it would be reasonable to expect them to do so, that negates their well-founded fear, making them ineligible for asylum. However, notably, if the persecutor is the government, the applicant is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that persecution is countrywide and internal relocation is not possible.

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