People are migrating across borders around the world in large numbers today. Multinational companies are sending employees to other countries. Many are migrating to seek better work. Others are escaping terrible conditions due to war or famine in their own country.

Host country citizens may understand intuitively what the immigrant must be going through, but they seldom consider the privileges they themselves enjoy as citizens. The following list of privileges citizens share is intended to raise our awareness and empathy for the immigrant, refugee, and sojourner.

1. Citizens speak their country’s language without a “foreign” accent. An accent is often considered a sign of less intelligence and/or limited understanding of the host culture.

2. The more one shares the physical features of the “typical” citizen, the fewer problems one has in job or house hunting.

3. The children of citizens do not feel that they have to choose between their parents’ culture and one shared by most of the people in the society in which they live.

4. Citizens experience less social stigma for accepting social services. The immigrant on social welfare is considered someone who is living off taxes paid by citizens, and too lazy or ignorant to make a living themselves.

5. The citizen’s eating habits, religion, and social practices are not considered strange or contrary to host country values.

6. A citizen has more choices in deciding who to marry compared to the immigrant.

7. The citizen will likely keep a job long after a more competent foreigner has been laid off.

8. A citizen does not have the same “glass ceiling” experience as an immigrant. A glass ceiling refers to the invisible barriers to promotion within an organization. Most companies are filled at the top with people who resemble “typical” citizens and immigrants are prominent at the bottom in low paying jobs.

9. Citizens are less likely to be stopped by the police just for looking “suspicious.”

10. Citizens do not feel that they have to take on the appearance of the typical person in the host country in order to enjoy the society’s benefits.