Why People Migrate

1. Why People Migrate • Reasons for migrating • Push and pull factors • Economic • Cultural • Environmental – Intervening obstacles • Distance of migration • Internal migration • International migration • Characteristics of migrants • Gender • Family status

2. Essential Vocabulary • Migration - the permanent move to a new location. • Mobility – the ability to move from one location to another. • Net migration – emigration subtracted from immigration. • Emigration – to leave a country • Immigration – to enter a country • Brain Drain – the large scale emigration of talented people. • Chain migration – individual or small groups of people following the same migration pattern (typically families – Asian Families). • Pollero or Coyote – someone who helps undocumented Mexicans immigrate. • Urbanization – moving from rural (country) to urban (city). • Counter-urbanization – moving from urban to rural.

3. Net Migration (per population) Fig. 3-3: Net migration per 1,000 population. The U.S. has the largest number of immigrants, but other developed countries also have relatively large numbers.

4. Reasons for Migrating • Push / Pull Factors • Whether a push or pull depends on how the migrant views the reason for moving. • Economic (typically voluntary moves) • Cultural / Political (typically when people are forced to migrate) • Environmental (typically voluntary move) • Most people migrate because of a combination of push and pull factors.

5. Push / Pull Factors • Millions of West Africans who migrated to Nigeria during the 1970s, when the country’s economy expanded, were expelled during the 1980s, when the country’s economy declined. This is an example of a pull factor changing into a push factor.

6. Historically Important Push / Pull Factors • North America – Economy • Irish – Disastrous Economic Conditions • Enclosure movement – economic (define) • Communism – Vietnam and Eastern Europe

7. Migration of Vietnamese Boat People Fig. 3-11: Many Vietnamese fled by sea as refugees after the war with the U.S. ended in 1975. Later boat people were often considered economic migrants.

8. Emigration from China Fig. 3-10: Various ethnic Chinese peoples have distinct patterns of migration to other Asian countries.

9. Intervening Obstacle • A physical or cultural / political reason why people cannot or will not migrate. • Examples: • Physical (desert, ocean, river, mountain) • Alps • Cultural (language, religion, ethnicity) • Speaking different language • Political (government policies, war) • Iron Curtain

10. Migration Patterns • Internal migration – moving within the same country • International migration – moving from one country to another.

11. Refugees: Sources and destinations Fig. 3-1: Major source and destination areas of both international and internal refugees.

12. Migration Patterns • Global migration patterns • U.S. migration patterns • Colonial immigration • 19th century immigration • Recent immigration • Impact of immigration on the U.S. • Legacy of European migration • Undocumented immigration • Destination of immigrants within the U.S.

13. Global Patterns • Traditionally, most Europeans come to North America but that trend has changed in the last 50 years. Now most North American Immigrants come from Latin American and Asia. • See next slides…

14. Global Migration Patterns Fig. 3-2: The major flows of migration are from less developed to more developed countries.

15. Migration to U.S., by region of origin Fig. 3-4: Most migrants to the U.S. were from Europe until the 1960s. Since then, Latin America and Asia have become the main sources of immigrants.

16. Migration from Asia to the U.S. Fig. 3-5: Migration in 2001. The largest numbers of migrants from Asia come from India, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

17. Migration from Latin America to the U.S. Fig. 3-6: Mexico has been the largest source of migrants to the U.S., but migrants have also come from numerous other Latin American nations.

18. Historical US International Migration Patterns • Colonial Migration (Europe to North America) Religious Freedom • 1840s – 1850s ( from North and West Europe) Political • Late 19th Century 1860s – 1900s (from North and West Europe) Economic • Early 20th Century 1900s – 1920s (from South and East Europe) Political • Mid 20th Century 1940s – 1960s (From Asia) Political • Late 20th Century 1980s – 2000s (From Latin America) Economic • Current – most immigrants are family members of US citizens • Largest number of refugees come from Cuba, Haiti, and Vietnam.

19. Historical US Internal Migration Patterns • Greatest interregional migration in the United States occurred with the opening up of the Western Territories. • The US center of population has moved steadily to the west. • African Americans moving from south to north following civil war. • Current trend is from urban (cities) to suburban (rural).

20. Interregional Migration in the U.S. Fig. 3-13: Average annual migrations between regions in the U.S. in 1995 and in 2000.

21. Center of Population in the U.S. Fig. 3-12: The center of U.S. population has consistently moved westward, with the population migration west. It has also begun to move southward with migration to the southern sunbelt.

22. Intraregional Migration in the U.S. Fig. 3-14: Average annual migration among urban, suburban, and rural areas in the U.S. during the 1990s. The largest flow was from central cities to suburbs.

23. Impact on US because of Immigration • Melting Pot of Cultures (religions, languages, ethnicities) • Undocumented Immigration • Destination (States) of US Immigration

24. U.S. States as Immigrant Destinations Fig. 3-8: California is the destination of about 25% of all U.S. immigrants; another 25% go to New York and New Jersey. Other important destinations include Florida, Texas, and Illinois.

25. Party Trivia… • What country provides the most legal immigrants to the US? • What country provides the most illegal immigrants to the US?

26. Typical Immigrant Both legal and illegal • Educated • Male • Single • Young

27. Undocumented Immigration:Mexico to Arizona Fig. 3-7: The complex route of one group of undocumented migrants from a small village north of Mexico City to Phoenix, Arizona.

28. Obstacles to Migration • Immigration policies of host countries • U.S. quota laws • Temporary migration for work • Time-contract workers • Economic migrants or refugees? • Cultural problems living in other countries • U.S. attitudes to immigrants • Attitudes to guest workers

29. US Quota Laws • Quota Laws limit the number of US immigrants from different parts of the world. • Original Intent / Outcome – to increase the number of immigrants from Europe and decrease the number of immigrants from other parts of the world.

30. Guest Workers • Popular in European Countries (places with small countries) • Allows people to move freely between countries to work and/or conduct business in other countries. • Eases border restrictions and allows people to live in one country and work in another. • Usually considered low-status foreigners by host country. • Usually come from south and east parts of Europe to work in north and west parts of Europe.

31. Guest Workers in Europe Fig. 3-9: Guest workers emigrate mainly from Eastern Europe and North Africa to work in the wealthier countries of Western Europe.