An immigrant is "a person who comes to a
country to take up permanent residence." (Merriam
Webster) According to the Department of Homeland Security, "A Green Card holder (permanent resident) is someone who has been granted authorization to live and work in the
United States on a permanent basis. As proof of that status,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants a person a permanent resident card, commonly called a "Green Card.""
"Undocumented Immigrants" do not have a green card and have not taken steps to obtain status as residents of the United States and therefore they are not immigrants. The term immigrant is used as a way to mock people who enter the United States illegally as nonresidents.