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Boat people

Boat people is a slang term referring to (usually) illegal immigrants who arrive en masse in crudely made boats.

Such immigrants are commonly from Asia and the Caribbean, and are often risking their lives on dangerous boats to escape oppression or poverty in their home nations, commonly mainland China, Vietnam, Cuba, or Haiti.

Boat people are frequently a source of controversy in the nation they seek to immigrate to, commonly the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Similarly, people from Africa try to enter the European Union by going illegally by boat from Morocco to Spain.