Migration in search of better economic conditions, employment, etc. Example urbanization (moving to the cities because of poor economic conditions in rural areas); migration of legal and illegal immigrants to the United States from poorer countries in search of employment Migration to escape overpopulation and its effects. example: migration to the suburbs in order to secure better living conditions - especially better school districts, less crowded living conditions “This city is no place to raise a child,” etc. Migration to escape poor climate conditions such as drought, el Niño, etc. Example: the Ethiopian refugee crisis during the famine in the early 1980s; Bangladeshis seeking work elsewhere to avoid yearly flooding because of the destruction of so much of the land and national infrastructure. Migration to escape natural disasters. Example: what happens every time there’s a hurricane in the U.S.? The “tent cities” erected in Turkey after the 1999 earthquake - some of them are still there, in other cases the residents have moved away to live with relatives and haven’t come back; Hurricane Mitch (1998) destroyed nearly 70% of Honduras’ important crops and displaced nearly one-quarter of its population )
Migration to escape war, invasion, military takeover, etc. Examples: Every time there is a war, there is a refugee crisis. Look at the refugees from Iraq, Cuba in Castro years; Tamils from Sri Lanka during civil war; and people on all sides who gave up and left during the Israeli/Palestinian crisis Migration to escape persecution on ethnic, political, religious or other grounds. For example: South American activists and intellectuals from Argentina, Brazil, Chile who self-exiled during their countries’ oppressive dictatorships ; Tibetans to India after Chinese takeover. Migration to escape prosecution for crimes committed. Examples: although this tends to be the reason for few migrations, they do tend to be very spectacular. British train robber Ronnie Biggs evaded the law for 35 years by escaping to Brazil where he became quite the celebrity when he opened his home to tourists. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a country unrecognized by the United Nations or any country except Turkey, has become a haven for money launderers and drug smugglers who live in villas on the Mediterranean island because Northern Cyprus has no extradition treaties and they can live a comfortable life without fear of prosecution.
Migration to spread a religion For example: Buddhism, Christianity and Islam all began at a specific point in time at one specific geographic location and spread rapidly from there - in the case of both Buddhism and Christianity these religions are now a minority at their geographic point of origin. Missionary movements, such as the Jesuits throughout the Americas to convert indigenous peoples in 16 th & 17 th centuries are another example. Migration to reunite with family, friends, etc. who have previously migrated Migration to spread a political philosophy, such as Marxism, democracy, etc.: Examples: Argentine Che Guevara moved to help foment revolution in Cuba and Bolivia; Lenin emigrated from Switzerland to Russia during World War I to galvanize the Bolshevik revolution; the Ayatollah Khomeini emigrated to France from Iraq to take advantage of technology as a means to gain support for the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Migration to find personal freedom, to live a certain lifestyle, or to hold certain beliefs, not necessary as the result of persecution. For example: the Pilgrims - no one forced them to leave England or Holland, but they felt that emigrating to the New World would give them more freedom; “ghettoizations” such as the migration of African Americans to urban centers in the north after the Civil War, etc; the migration of gays to San Francisco and New York in the post-Stonewall era, etc.
Issues of identity: Post 9/11 this has been a huge issue for Arab-American and Muslim-American immigrants (and even second- and third-generations) - where do loyalties lie? Which side do they support? In addition, the past 25 years have seen the “hyphenization” of Americans - we are now “Mexican-American,” “Jewish-American,” “Italian-American,” etc. Issues of adaptation and assimilation: this can be traced over generations as ancestral languages are lost and replaced by the language of the new country. One interesting twist on this has been “Spanglish” Differing cultural values between generations. Anyone who has seen films like “Bend it like Beckham” or “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” or “Real Women Have Curves” will be familiar with the stereotype of the young generations, born abroad, struggling against the ‘restrictive’ values of the immigrant generation that seem archaic and ‘old fashioned.’
The most common complaints about immigration are that 1) immigrants take jobs away from the local population; 2) that they drive down wages; 3) and that they are a burden on the country’s social welfare system. Economic impact The loss of jobs or perceived loss of jobs – studies during one of the recent economic recessions indicate that although Americans are losing jobs, and many of them blame immigrants for “taking our jobs away from us,” immigrants who find employment are rarely taking jobs of the same type or class as the jobs that are being lost. Despite this lack of a correlation between the loss of jobs and the hiring of immigrants, there is still a popular perception that one of the main factors in rising unemployment rates is that immigrants are willing to work for less and are therefore being hired en masse to replace laid-off workers. Compare this with the situation in post-World War II Scandinavia, where immigration was encouraged because the population was experiencing negative growth, and migrants were desperately needed to keep the economy working. Welfare issues Both real and perceived; The popular perception is that the vast majority of immigrants are on welfare – and that this is one of their primary motives in choosing to come to the United States. A 2005 study, however, found that although immigrants make up 10.4% of the population, they account for only 7.9% of the country’s health care expenditures and only 8% of the government’s health care funds. Social attitudes Racism; Islamophobia; ghettoization. One interesting note: although this slide easily applies to the United States, the case study that laid out the framework for it was looking at the status of immigrants in Germany and Sweden. These issues are not limited to the United States by any means.
Remittances - money made by nationals working abroad and sent to relatives in the home country. Mexico receives $14 billion per year in remittances; Egypt receives $1 billion.
“ Open border” policies The European Union has a free-border policy - any citizen of any EU member state has the right to live and work in any other EU member state. What is the effect on employment, social attitudes, etc? Immigration policies Every so often, a U.S. administration official suggests amnesty for illegal immigrants in the U.S… Security issues Obviously this is a big issue in the U.S. after 9/11. Human trafficking / slavery It still exists. Examples include the coyotes, who smuggle immigrants across the border from Mexico into the U.S. In many nations, people pay to be taken across the border and find themselves in sweat shops or working to pay off their debts as prostitutes.