NOTE: To change the image on this slide, select the picture and delete it. Then click the Pictures icon in the placeholder to insert your own image. Migration 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. Rural push factors include declining opportunities in agriculture. Pull factors induce people to move into a new location. Three major types of push and pull factors 1. Political 2. Environmental 3. Economic – most people migrate for economic reasons

Why do People Migrate? Push-Pull Model Everett Lee, 1966 Intervening obstacles may affect a migrant’s decision

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 is a person who flees across an international boundary because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted or murdered for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion Largest number of refugees in 2010 were people forced to migrate from Afghanistan and Iraq because of war.

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.

REFUGEES AND IDPS The largest numbers of refugees originated in Southwest Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

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 Hundreds of thousands have been forced to move from the Sahel region of northern Africa because of drought conditions.

Economic Opportunities Islands of Development – Places within a region or country where foreign investment, jobs, and infrastructure are concentrated.

Economic Opportunities In late 1800s and early 1900s, Chinese migrated throughout Southeast Asia to work in trade, commerce, and finance.

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 Relative attractiveness of a region can shift with economic change. Migration rates to the U.S. have decreased since the onset of the 2008 recession. 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.

Kinds of Voluntary Migration Step Migration – When a migrant follows a path of a series of stages, or steps toward a final destination. * intervening opportunity –at one of the steps along the path, pull factors encourage the migrant to settle there. Chain Migration – When a migrant communicates to family and friends at home, encouraging further migration along the same path, along kinship links.

Economic Conditions – Migrants will often risk their lives in hopes of economic opportunities that will enable them to send money home (remittances) to their family members who remain behind.

Distance Decay As the distance between two places increases, the volume of interaction between these places decreases Also known as Zipf’s Law Gravity Model Postulates that the interaction between two cities is a function of each city’s population and the distance between them

Distance Decay weighs into the decision to migrate, leading many migrants to move less far than they originally contemplate. Voluntary Migration – Migrants weigh push and pull factors to decide first, to emigrate from the home country and second, where to go.

Intervening Opportunities While migrating from A to B, migrants may become aware of other opportunities Life Cycle Factors Migrants move at significant times in their lives Factor Mobility Model Argues that migrants move from low- to high- wage areas Human Capital Model People move for both economics and for personal reasons

Human Trafficking The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by threat or use of force 600,000 – 800,000 per year “People Smuggling” is the shipping of people to circumvent immigration laws Child Soldiers ~ 300,000 children

People Smuggling

Child Soldiers

Refugees A person living outside of his or her own country who cannot return home because of fear of injury or persecution. 12 million people worldwide are refugees or seeking asylum Internally Displaced Persons A person displaced in his or her own country About 24 million people worldwide Repatriation The process of moving refugees back into their home country