1. Why Do People Migrate?
Key Issue #1

2. Ravestein’s Laws Ravenstein’s Laws: (three categories)
The reasons why migrants move
The distance they typically move
The migrants groups characteristics
Reasons for migrating:
Push Factor: induces people to move out their present location
View their present location so negatively that they fell pushed away
Pull Factor: induces people to move into a new location
View another place so attractively that they feel pulled toward to it

3. Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
1) Most migrants go a short distance.
2) People who migrate long distances tend to go to urban areas.
3) People already living in rural areas are more likely to migrate than those in urban areas.
4) Most migrants are adults. Women are more likely to migrate internally. Men are more likely to migrate internationally.
Do these laws fit with the immigration to the United States in the early 20th century?

4. Push/Pull Factors Three major kinds of push/pull factors: Economic
Cultural
Environmental
Usually one of these factors emerges as the most important
Ranking the relative importance of the three factors can be difficult and even controversial

5. Economic Push/Pull Factors
Emigrating from few job opportunities to immigrating to a place where there are job opportunities
Area that has valuable natural resources
Rapid population growth stimulates demand for service jobs and facilities
Relative attractiveness

6. Cultural Push/Pull Factors
Usually very compelling PUSH factors, forcing to people to emigrate from a country
Forced International Migration has occurred because:
Slavery: from Africa to the Western Hemisphere 18th and 19th centuries
Political instability: resulting from cultural diversity; new boundaries drawn segregated ethnic groups (caught on the “wrong” side of a boundary

7. Refugees
Refugees: people who have been forced to migrate from their homes and cannot return for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion
Face difficulties:
Have no home until another country agrees to allow them in
Improving conditions allow them to return home
Camp out in tents, board in shelters, or lie down by the side of the road

8. Cultural Pull Factors Cultural Pull Factor:
Political conditions: lure of freedom
People attracted to the idea of democracy, freedom of choice in education, career and place of residence
Difficult to distinguish as a pull factor because it usually is teamed with the push from a totalitarian country

9. Environmental Push/Pull Factors
PUSH: Hazardous
PULLED: physically attractive regions
Intervening Obstacles: an environmental or cultural feature that hinders migration
Historical Obstacle: Gold Rush, no cars, planes or trains, could cross the Rockies or Great Plains by wagon
Modern Obstacle: Local Diversity in government and politics; need passport to legally emigrate from one country and a visa to legally immigrate to a new country

10. Distance of Migration Distance of Migration:
Most migrants relocate a short distance and remain within the same country
Long-distance migrants to other countries head for major centers of economic activity

11. International Migration
International Migration: permanent movement from one country to another
“forced” migration: migrant has been compelled to move by cultural factors; cultural factors compel forced migration
“voluntary” migration: migrant has chosen to move fro economic improvement; economic push and pull factors

12. Internal Migration
Internal Migration: permanent movement within the same country
Usually easier on people because they still find familiar languages, foods, broadcasts, literature, music and other social customs
Involve shorter distances
Interregional migration: movement from one region of a country to another; rural to urban areas in search of jobs
Intraregional migration: movement within one region; movement within urban areas--- from an old neighborhood to a new neighborhood

13. Distance Decay “Distance decay of migration”:
The greater the distance, the less likely there is to be interaction or influence.
The lesser the distance, the more likely there is to be interaction or influence.
In terms of migration, people migrate to places that are closer
Where do Cubans go that migrate to the United States?
Are immigrating Asians to the United States more likely to go to the west coast or the east coast?

14. Cuba

15. Asian-American Map

16. Zelinsky Zelinsky’s migration related to the DTM:
Changes in society comparable to those in the DTM
Change in migration pattern in society that results from economic and social change in the DTM
International migration: stage 2-social changes, lower CBR and CDR in search of economic opportunities
Internal migration: stage 3 and 4- from cities to surrounding suburbs
Stage 1 unlikely to migrate permanently to a new location, although high seasonal mobility in search of food

17. Migrants and Gender Migrants and Gender
Most long-distance migrants are male
Most long-distance migrants are adult individuals rather than families with children
Theory Changed today: gender pattern reversed in 1990s- women now constitute 55% of U.S. immigrants
Mexican Immigrants: women account for over half of the undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
Reflects the changing role of women in Mexican society: past- marry at young age and remain in the village to care for children; today: migrate to join husbands and brothers in U.S., mostly to seek jobs- poor economic conditions in Mexico

18. Family Status/Education of Migrants
Family Status of migrants: young adults that were seeking work; very few elderly or young children
Today: increasing amount of children under the age of 15 (increase of women=more children)
Education: less likely to have high school diplomas than U.S. citizens; typical undocumented has attended school for less than 4 years, less than average American, but one more year than the average Mexican

19. “Typical” Mexican Immigrant
Resonate from the interior states of Mexico
Most have jobs in their villages- migrate to earn more money
Work in agriculture, clothing factories
Move from region to region in U.S. depending on seasonal changes…
Make more money in U.S. and return to Mexico
Money leaves the U.S. economy…..