migra n. the border patrol at the shared U.S. boundary with Mexico. Editorial Note: Used by Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants as la migra. The border patrol, originally part of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, is now a part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security. Etymological Note: Clipped form of Sp. migración ‘migration.’ (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis...