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Module 03 - PowerPoint 02

People migrate due to a combination of push factors, such as political, environmental, and economic reasons, and pull factors that attract them to new locations. Migrants face obstacles primarily from political and cultural factors rather than environmental ones, and unauthorized immigration is a significant issue in the U.S. Attitudes towards immigrants in both the U.S. and Europe are mixed, acknowledging their economic contributions while expressing concerns about cultural integration and social impacts.

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16 views24 pages

Module 03 - PowerPoint 02

People migrate due to a combination of push factors, such as political, environmental, and economic reasons, and pull factors that attract them to new locations. Migrants face obstacles primarily from political and cultural factors rather than environmental ones, and unauthorized immigration is a significant issue in the U.S. Attitudes towards immigrants in both the U.S. and Europe are mixed, acknowledging their economic contributions while expressing concerns about cultural integration and social impacts.

Uploaded by

Lae McLaughlin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 3: Migration (Part 2) Key Issues

• Why do people migrate?


• Why do migrants face obstacles?
Why Do People Migrate?

• People decide to migrate because of a


combination of two factors.
– Push factors induce people to move out of
their present location.
– Pull factors induce people to move into a new
location.
• Three major types of push and pull factors
1. Political
2. Environmental
3. Economic
Reasons for Migrating

• Political factors can be especially


compelling push factors, forcing people to
migrate from a country.
• United Nations High Commissions for
Refugees recognizes three groups of
forced political migrants.
1. A refugee has been forced to migrate to
avoid a potential threat to his or her life, and
he or she cannot return for fear of
persecution.
Reasons for Migrating

2. An internally displaced person (IDP) is


similar to a refugee, but he or she has not
migrated across an international border.
3. An asylum seeker is someone who has
migrated to another country in hope of being
recognized as a refugee.
Reasons for Migrating

• Environmental factors can prompt


migration from hazardous environments or
pull migrants to attractive regions.
– Environmental Pull Factors
• Mountains
• Seasides
• Warm Climates
– Environmental Push Factors
• Water: most common environmental threat
– Flood
– Drought
Reasons for Migrating

• Most people migrate for economic


reasons.
– Push factor: migrate away from places with few
jobs
– Pull factor: migrate to places where jobs seem to
be available
• U.S. and Canada have been prominent
destinations for economic migrants.
– Historically individuals migrated from Europe.
– More recently Latin America and Asia are primary
senders.
Why Do Migrants Face Obstacles?

• Intervening obstacles, which hinder


migration, can be categorized into two
types.
1. Environmental Feature- i.e., mountain,
ocean, or distance
2. Political Feature- i.e., countries require
proper documentation to leave one country
and gain entry in another
Controlling Migration

• Countries have adopted selective


immigration policies.
– Preference shown for specific employment
placement and family reunification
• Passing of the Quota Act in 1921 and the
National Origins Act in 1924 by the U.S.
Congress marked the end of unrestricted
immigration to the U.S.
Controlling Migration

• More seek admission to the U.S. than is


permitted by the quotas, thus preferences
are shown toward:
• Family Reunification
– About ¾ of immigrants
• Skilled Workers
– Approximately ¼ of immigrants
– Sending countries alleged preference for skilled workers
contributes to brain drain- a term for the disproportionate
amount of highly skilled and intelligent citizens migrating
away from sending countries.
• Diversity
– A few immigrants admitted, because their sending country
historically has sent very few migrants
Unauthorized Immigration

• Unauthorized immigrants are those who


enter a country without proper documents.
• Characteristics of unauthorized immigrates
in the U.S.
– Source Country
• Roughly 58 percent emigrate from Mexico
– Children
• Of estimated 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants,
nearly 1 million are children.
• Unauthorized immigrants have given birth to 4.5 million
children on U.S. soil making the children U.S. citizens.
Unauthorized Immigration

– Years in the U.S.


• Duration of residency has increased for
unauthorized immigrants.
• In 2010, 35 percent of adults had been in U.S. for
at least 15 years.
– Labor Force
• Approximately 8 million unauthorized immigrants
are employed in the U.S.
– Distribution
• Texas and California have largest number of
unauthorized immigrants
Unauthorized Immigration
• Mexico’s Border with the United States
– View from the U.S. recognizes motives that
compel unauthorized immigrants to enter
illegally
• Employment Opportunities
• Family Reunification
• Better Way of Life
– View from Mexico is more complex
• Residents of northern Mexico wish for compassion
to be shown to unauthorized immigrants.
• Residents of southern Mexico are less tolerant
because of number of unauthorized immigrants
entering Mexico from Guatemala.
Attitudes toward Immigrants

• Immigration Concerns in the U.S.


– Most views of immigration by U.S. citizens are
ambivalent in nature.
• Border Patrol
– They would like more effective border control, but they
don’t want to spend more money to solve the issue.
• Workplace
– Most recognize that unauthorized immigrants take jobs
from U.S. citizens, but they understand most citizens
wouldn’t take the jobs so they support a path to U.S.
citizenship for these unauthorized immigrants.
Attitudes toward Immigrants

• Civil Rights
– U.S. citizens favor letting law enforcement officials stop
and verify the legal status of anyone, but they fear civil
rights will be infringed upon of U.S. citizens, as a result
of racial profiling.
• Local Initiatives
– Polls suggest U.S. citizens believe unauthorized
immigration is a pressing matter to the nation, but it
should only be dealt with at the federal level and not the
local level.
» Many were opposed to Arizona’s 2010 law that
obligated foreigners to carry a proof of citizenship
with them at all times.
» More than 100 localities across the nation support
additional rights for unauthorized immigrants—such
a movement is known as a “Sanctuary City.”
Attitudes toward Immigrants
• Immigration Concerns in Europe
– Population growth in Europe is fueled by
immigration from other regions of the world, a
trend disliked by many Europeans.
• Biggest fear is that the host country’s culture will
be lost, because immigrants:
– adhere to different religions
– speak different languages
– practice different food and other cultural habits
• Hostility to immigrants has become a central plank
of some political parties in many European
countries.
– Immigrants blamed for crime, unemployment rates, and
high welfare costs.
Attitudes toward Immigrants

• Europeans as Emigrants
– Inhospitable climate for immigrants in Europe
is especially ironic.
• Europe was the source of most of the world’s
emigrants, during the nineteenth century.
• Most Europeans fear losing their cultural heritage
to that of new immigrants, while:
– Indo-European languages are now spoken by half of the
world, as a result of European emigrants.
– Christianity has the world’s largest number of adherents.
– European art, music, literature, philosophy, and ethics
have diffused throughout the world.
Attitudes toward Immigrants

• Characteristics of Migrants
– Ravenstein noted:
• Most long-distance migrants are male.
• Most long-distance migrants are adult individuals
rather than families with children.
• Most long-distance migrants are young adults
seeking work rather than children or elderly
people.
Attitudes toward Immigrants

• Characteristics of Migrants
– More males migrated to the U.S. during the
nineteenth century and most of the twentieth
century.
• Gender reversed in 1990s when women
constituted about 55 percent of U.S. immigrants.
– Most likely a reflection of the changing role of women in
Mexican society.
– About 40 percent of immigrants in U.S. are
young adults between the ages of 25 and 39.
– Recent immigrants to the U.S. tend to be less
educated than U.S. citizens.
Summary

• On a global scale, the largest flows of


migrants are from Asia to Europe and from
Latin America to the U.S.
– Third-world to first-world
• The decision to migrate is a conclusion
influenced by a mixture of push and pull
factors.
• Migrants face obstacles in migrating not as
much by environmental factors anymore
but by political or cultural factors.
Summary

• Worldwide, the most prominent type of


intraregional migration is from rural areas
to urban areas. In the U.S., it is from cities
to suburbs.
• Americans and Europeans share mixed
views about immigration. They recognize
their importance to the local economy, but
key features of immigration trouble them.

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