Migration Chapter 3

Migration Geographers study from where people migrate and to where they migrate They also study why they migrate Migration- a permanent move to a new location Type of relocation diffusion (spread of a characteristic through the bodily movement of people)

continued Emigration- migration from a location Immigration- migration to a location Net migration- the difference b/w the # of immigrants and the # of emigrants If # of immigrants is higher, net migration is positive—known as net in-migration If # of emigrants is higher, net migration is negative– net out-migration

Why Do People Migrate? E. G. Ravenstein wrote 11 “laws” of migration in 19th century Serves as basis for modern migration study “laws” concerned three areas of study Why migrants move The distance they typically move The characteristics of migrants

Reasons for Migrating Push factor- induces people to move out of their current location Pull factor- induces people to move into a new location Both factors usually play a role 3 major kinds of push and pull factors Economic Cultural Environmental

Economic Push and Pull Factors Most common reason for migrating Move to places that seem to have opportunity and out of places that have very little US and Canada historically have had many immigrants come for opportunity Relative attractiveness of a region can shift with economic change

Cultural Push and Pull Factors Forced international migration is a cultural push factor– ex.’s slavery and political instability Ethnic segregation and wars cause people to migrate Refugees- people who have been forced to migrate from their homes and cannot return for fear of prosecution due to their race, religion, nationality, or political opinion

continued Refugees have no home unless another country agrees to take them in 2 largest refugee groups are Palestinians and Afghans Palestinians left Israel after it was created in 1948 or after it expanded in 1967 2 largest groups of internal refugees are the Sudanese (civil war) and the Columbians (drug lords and guerrillas)

continued Political conditions can also be a pull factor Lure of freedom

Environmental Push and Pull Factors Pushed out of hazardous regions– pulled into attractive ones Attractive areas would include: mountains, beach, and warm climates Too little or too much water is a major push factor Drought and floodplains An area subject to flooding during a specific number of years

Intervening Obstacles Def.- an environmental or cultural factor that hinders migration Historically, primarily environmental Hard to travel across inhospitable environments Ocean, mountains, desert Modern transportation has made this much easier Government and politics are obstacles today Need passports to cross borders

Distance of Migration Ravenstein said: most migrants only move a short distance and remain within the same country Long-distance migrants to other countries head major economic centers

Internal Migration Def.- permanent movement within the same country Adheres to the idea of distance decay The farther away a place is located, the less likely people will migrate there Explains why there are more internal migrants than international migrants Easier because there is less culture shock

continued 2 types of internal migration Interregional migration- movement from one region of a country to another Intraregional migration- movement within one region Historically, interregional migration has been mostly rural to urban (but now environmentally attractive rural areas are becoming popular) Intraregional is usually within urban areas – city to suburbs

International Migration Def.- permanent movement from one country to another 2 types Voluntary migration- migrant has chosen to move for economic improvement Forced migration- migrant has been compelled to move by cultural factors

Zelinsky’s Migration Transition Def.- change in the migration pattern in a society that results from industrialization, pop. growth, and other social and economic changes that also produce the demographic transition International migration is primarily a function of stage 2 (people leave to go to stage 3 or 4 countries) Internal migration is more important in stages 3 and 4 (cities to suburbs)

Characteristics of Migrants Historically, males were more likely than females to migrant internationally Because men worked more than women and left to find job opportunities Since the 1990s, female migrants are on the rise (about ½ in the US) Most long distance migrants are young adults seeking work –not children or elderly

continued 40% of US immigrants are b/w 25 and 39 (that demographic is only 23% of entire US pop.) Only 5% of immigrants are over 65 16% are under 15 – this number is on the rise

Global Migration Patterns Asia, LA, and Africa have net-out migration NA, Europe, and Oceania have net-in migration 3 biggest migration flows are form Asia to Europe, Asia to NA, LA to NA Reflects the importance of migration from LDCs to MDCs People want the prospect of better jobs and higher pay

continued US has more than 35 million people born in other countries More than half from LA ¼ from Asia 12% of US pop are immigrants We have more immigrants than anybody But, ¼ of Australian pop are immigrants 1/6 of Canadian

continued ½ the pop of the Middle East are immigrants United Arab Emirates – 74%, Kuwait 68% People from poorer areas of Middle East migrate to get jobs in Oil exporting industry

US Immigration Patterns 70 million people have immigrated to the US since 1820 The US has had 3 main eras of immigration Colonial Immigration 19th century European Immigration Recent Immigration form LDCs

Colonial Immigration 2 sources: Europe and Africa About 1 million Europeans migrated to the American colonies before independence 90% from Great Britain About 400,000 African slaves were forced to migrate here during the same period

19th Century Migration 7.2 million from Germany 5.4 million from Italy 5.3 million from United Kingdom 4.8 million from Ireland 4.1 million from Russia

continued 1840s-1850s 4.3 million came to US mostly from Western and Northern Europe Mostly from Ireland and Germany Pushed by bad economic factors 1870s-1880s still mostly Western and Northern European Many German and Irish, but also Norwegians and Swedes Result of industrial revolution hitting those countries Search for more land as pop. exploded

Continued (sort of) During the first 15 years of 20th century, close to 1 million people migrated each year Most came from Southern and Eastern Europe Italy, Russia, and Austria-Hungary specifically Once again the Industrial Revolution spread to these areas causing large pop increases (stage 2)

Recent Immigration from LDCs Most from LA and Asia In 2006 Mexico officially passed Germany as the country of origin of most total immigrants to the US Probably actually happened in the 1980s because of all the undocumented immigrants Also get a lot of Dominicans

continued 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act Issued visas to several hundred thousand illegal immigrants already living in the US

continued China, Philippines, India, and Vietnam send the most immigrants to the US from Asia

Impact of Immigration on the United States US was Europe’s “safety valve” for several hundred years Pop boom in Europe after the industrial revolution led to rapid growth in stage 2 The US had plenty of land for European Immigrants who found themselves without it Now Europe has very low NIRs Don’t send many immigrants to US “safety valve” is no longer needed

continued European migration greatly shaped World Culture Indo-European languages, Christianity, art, music, philosophy and ethics have diffused around the world In NA political and economic systems of Europe have diffused

Undocumented Immigration Def.- immigration to a country without proper legal documentation aka unauthorized immigrants Estimates vary, but somewhere b/w 9.3 and 12 million illegals in US– most from Mexico Most come for work Make up 24% of US farm labor, 17% in cleaning, 14% in construction, and 12% in food prep.

continued About 50% of undocumented immigrants come here legally with a student or tourist visa Just don’t leave Other half sneaks across border Not very difficult to do Guards patrol official border crossings, but the border is 2000 miles long

Notice break in fence >>>

Where would you rather live?????

continued Undocumented often become “documented” by purchasing false documents About 1.3 million are caught each year by Homeland Security – about 90% Mexican They are escorted back home Many just come right back

Destination of Immigrants Within the United States More than ½ of recent immigrants are clustered in 4 states California (most), NY, FL, and TX Undocumented immigrants show a similar pattern CA (most), TX, FL, NY, AZ, IL, GA, NJ Pretty high in states relatively accessible to Mexico

continued Mexicans go to CA, TX, IL Caribbean islanders go to NY, FL Chinese and Indians go to NY and CA Proximity explains much about destinations Whereas others choose where people from their country have previously settled Chain migration- migration to a specific location, because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there

Immigration Policies of Host Countries Countries use 2 main policies to control the arrival of foreigners seeking work The US uses a quota system In Europe and the Middle East, they permit guest workers

US Quota Laws Quotas- maximum limit on the number of people who could immigrate to the S from each country in a 1 year period First established in 1924 Updated in 1965, and replaced with hemisphere quotas instead of country quotas 1978, changed to a global quota of 290,000, with a max of 20,000 per country Today, 620,000, w/ max of 7% from one country

continued Get more applications for immigration per year than the quota allows Congress has set preferences 480,000 family sponsored immigrants 140,000 employment-related immigrants Currently about a 5 year wait for a spouse to gain entry Quotas do not account for refugees

continued Brain drain- large scale emigration of talented people In 2005, 84% of Haitians w/ a college degree lived abroad 47% Ghana 45% Mozambique

Temporary Migration for Work Guest workers- citizens of poor countries who obtain jobs in W. Europe and the Middle East Take low-status and low-skilled jobs that local residents won’t take Low paid by European standards, but far more than could make at home Helps the native country too Lowers unemployment and large % of pay gets infused in local economy as money gets sent home to families

continued Most guest workers in Europe come from N. Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia

continued Millions of Asians migrated in the 19th century as time-contract laborers, recruited for a fixed period to work in mines or on plantations many stayed after their contract was up

Distinguishing Between Economic Migrants and Refugees The 2 groups are treated differently Economic migratns must possess special skills or have a close relative already living their to be accepted Refugees receive special priority in admission to other countries because of persecution from undemocratic governments Read about Cuba, Haiti, and Vietnam p. 99-101

Cultural Problems Faced While Living in Other Countries Citiznes of host countries are not always accepting of newcomers’ cultural differences Immigrants are often used as scapegoats by local politicians to explain local economic problems

US Attitudes Toward Immigrants The Germans and Irish had only mild prejudice against them because they helped expand the frontier Russians, Italians, Poles, faced much more hostility after the frontier was closed They were deemed less intelligent, less trustworthy, and more inclined to violence Recent immigrants face many of the same prejudices today