This chapter focuses on irregular migration and refugee status, examining the international political issues of population movements that arise from the limitations of state policies, and not from any clash between states’ policy goals. It seeks to distinguish between “illegal” immigrants and refugees, while bearing in mind the limitations of these conceptual categories. While there is a fairly well-established international system for handling refugees, irregular migration is in principle regarded as a matter for the receiving country’s own immigration controls. But the author concludes that issues relating to the movements of people—be they irregular migrants, refugees, or internally displaced persons—are no longer merely human rights issues that apply to a limited or exceptional number. They inevitably become politically charged, and a failure to effectively address the resulting political issues will place the achievement of humanitarian objectives in jeopardy.