second-class citizen

noun

1. a citizen, especially a member of a minority group, who is denied the social, political, and economic benefits of citizenship.
2. a person who is not accorded a fair share of respect, recognition, or consideration:

   The boss treats us all like second-class citizens.

second-class citizen

noun

1. a person whose rights and opportunities are treated as less important than those of other people in the same society

Example Sentences

“When Roe v. Wade was overturned, I just felt that I had suddenly become a second-class citizen,” she said.

From Seattle Times

What that says to a kid is, “My parent is working. My parent is on their phone. I am a second-class citizen to that.”

From Los Angeles Times

In Israel, he said, he found that as a 23-year-old refugee from the Middle East, he was looked down upon and treated like a second-class citizen by Jews of European origin.

From New York Times

I felt like Black journalist Cinderella, like struggling all those years, feeling like a second-class citizen in media, and then ending up in the room with Oprah and getting the royal treatment and being able to look her in the eye and just tell her, "Thank you for representing for us for so long. Thank you for building your own network."

From Salon

But he felt like an “impostor and second-class citizen” as a transfer student, Chida said.

From Los Angeles Times