Chapter 3 Migration

Introduction  People move because of push or pull factors. Sometimes it’s a combination of both  E.G. Ravenstein identified 11 laws of migration  Emigration is moving from a location  Immigration is moving to a location  When people move they bring invisible things with them to the new area  Religion, language, art, food, music, clothing, traditions

Why do people migrate? EconomicCultural/PoliticalEnvironments To find workPersecutionFlooding Availability of resourcesRaceClimate ReligionPhysical features Political opinionDrought Civil War Freedom

Distance of Migration Internal Migration International Migration  Movement within the same country  Interregional-Migration from one region to another separate region (CA to FL)  Intraregional-Migration within a region (Tampa to Lakeland)  Mostly rural to urban migration  Movement to another country  Forced or Voluntary  Most traumatic  Forced is cultural  Voluntary is economic

Sources and Destinations of Refugees

Migration Transition  Developed by Wilbur Zelinksy  Applies migration patterns to the Demographic transition  Stage 2 countries experience international migration  Stage 3 & 4 experience internal migration  Stage 2 countries have high amounts of emigration  Stage 3 & 4 countries have high amounts of immigration

Characteristics of Migrants  Ravenstein concluded that migrants typically follow certain patterns  Most migrants are male- the farther the distance the more likely they are male  Most migrants are adults  Since 2000 and tougher enforcement laws migration characteristics have changed  More families are moving over permanently  Need to move just once  The tougher laws make multiple trips harder  This means more women and children are migrating

U.S. Immigration Patterns  1 st era- Settlement of colonies and slave trade  400,000 were slaves  2 nd era- Europeans migrating to U.S.  40 million to U.S.  3 rd era- Latin America and Asia  7 million (Asia) 13 million (Latin America)  Immigration Reform and Control Act

Impact of Migration to U.S.  Immigrants today are not entering a growing country (frontier) but a highly settled region where there is competition  Cultural backgrounds travel with immigrants which shape the country  Christianity  Government and economic structure and colonial conflicts

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.

Undocumented Immigration  BCIS estimates that there are 7 million illegal immigrants  Each year it grows by 350,000  Expired visas or border crossers  It is illegal to hire an illegal immigrant  Most of the time immigrants are deported back to Mexico if caught…no penalities  Texas, Florida, California and New York

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.

Intervening Obstacles  In the past, obstacles have been transportation issues  Other physical obstacles like mountains and water have hindered migration  Today’s migrants face obstacles not from physical or transportation issues, but cannot move due to lack of passports or legal documentation.  All countries require some sort of legal documents to allow you into their country

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

U.S. Quota Laws  Established in the 1920’s  Set limits on legal migration  Changed in 1965, 1978 to eventual global quotas  480,000 family (chain migration) 120,000 employment immigration  Typically only skilled workers are granted visas  Brain Drain in countries where they emigrated from

Economic Migrant or Refugee?  Cuba, Haiti and Vietnam  Mariel boatlift  Cubans were viewed as refugees because Castro was an ally of the Soviet Union  Coup created refugees in Haiti  Communist North Vietnam  Very important to distinguish status

Prejudice against migrants  Early European immigrants faced prejudice  CA voted to deny immigrants access to public services  Kuwait expelled Palestinian guest workers  Fiji wanted only Fijians to control government and Indians to run business  Anti-immigration is attractive

Why do people migrate within a country?  Interregional migration developed U.S. frontier  Population centers moved steadily west  Interior-1830  Low land prices, canals, steam powered boats  Great Plains-1880  Farming improved, steel plows, well drilling  South  Job opportunities, sunbelt

Migration between regions of a country Interregional Migration United StatesOther Countries Changing center of population The center of population has moved west as our country became settled Transportation helped the interior of the U.S. to be settled (think Gold Rush) Agriculture technology helped the Great Plains become settled Increase in job opportunities in the South caused the growth as well as the climate African American migration Russia Important to develop areas near raw materials Kosomol policy was used to encourage young students to work Brazil Moved capital to Brasilia to promote interior development Indonesia Government program to encourage development of islands and to move people away from Java Europe Southern Italian moving to Northern Italy for jobs (Mezzogiorno)

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

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.