What makes someone a refugee?

Kate Jastram quoted in The Altantic, July 29, 2014

For most people, the colloquial sense “refugee” carries a greater moral weight than “immigrant.” “Particularly because refugee law grew out of the Second World War and what happened—and didn’t happen—for people who were trying to flee for their lives, there is a tremendous moral connotation to the word ‘refugee,’” Jastram said.