repatriation

noun

re·​pa·​tri·​a·​tion (ˌ)rē-ˌpā-trē-ˈā-shən 

-ˌpa-

plural repatriations

: the act or process of restoring or returning someone or something to the country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship : the act of repatriating or the state of being repatriated

While officials privately acknowledge there is scant legal basis for repatriation, their public statements suggest that they would use lawsuits, diplomatic pressure and shame to bring home looted objects—not unlike Italy, Greece and Egypt, which have sought, with some success, to recover antiquities in European and American museums.

—Andrew Jacobs

They say they have that right under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which requires that human remains and artifacts be returned to Indian tribes that can show a cultural link.

—Timothy Egan

This left him an illegal immigrant in Hong Kong, subject to arrest and repatriation at any time.

—Nicholas D. Kristof

Examples of repatriation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nogales is seeing a surge in Mexicans returning to Mexico The executive action has resulted in a surge in the number of Mexicans arriving daily at the repatriation office in Nogales, Sonora. —Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 13 June 2024

The museum is preparing the repatriation of about 1,100 remains — that’s out of more than 7,000 remains in storage. —Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant, 28 Jan. 2024

This month, new federal regulations took effect that were designed to speed up returns, giving institutions five years to prepare all human remains and related funerary objects for repatriation and giving more authority to tribes throughout the process. —Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2024

Sinclair previously told The Post that 2015 marked the first repatriation request from the Indian government. —Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, 10 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined above