Some right-wingers will use the term "immigrant" for people that have been in the country for three generations.

It was a legitimate question. Issues related to displacement of people are often labeled as related to immigration or immigration problems while they’re closer to things like policy and services. These are also topics favourited by populist parties because it’s easy to generalise on them and misrepresent facts.

You're missing the point. We have no idea what your intended difference between immigration and "immigration" is supposed to be.

The one without quotes means "people moving across borders" the one with quotes means "people we've chosen to label as scary and dangerous because it makes you vote for us".