1. Immigration: Root Causes

2. Migrations 214 million Estimated number of international migrants worldwide 1 The total number of international migrants has increased over the last 10 years from an estimated 150 million in 2000 2 to 214 million 3 persons today.

3. Root Causes List from map exercise

4. Why do people move? Basic needs famine poverty Safety war/violence political persecution Opportunities lack of economic and educational opportunities Freedom of expression religious persecution Exploitation/environment mining deforestation U.S. policies NAFTA/subsidies -- cheap U.S. food drives Mexican farmers out of business

5. U.S. and Guatemala Political History Genocide 200,000 people died. More than one million people were forced to flee their homes and hundreds of villages were destroyed. The officially chartered Historical Clarification Commission attributed more than 93% of all documented violations of human rights to Guatemala's military government; and estimated that Maya Indians accounted for 83% of the victims.Historical Clarification CommissionMayaIndians - 1976 Earthquake – 25,000 dead

7. Cash Flow - Remittances Migrations and Cash Flow FTA’s – NAFTA - CAFTA

8. Corn 1994 - NAFTA exposed corn grown by Mexican farmers to direct competition with American-grown corn NAFTA - Small-scale corn farmers, 72% of Mexico’s corn producers, experienced a staggering reduction in their profits 1994 corn prices dropped 25%. “migration grew…352 percent between 1980 and 2002”. CAFTA – Central American Free Trade Agreement – Aug 2005

9. CAFTA Walmart, DD, McDonalds, BK, Etc etc etc… Displacement of formal and informal economy Manufacturing jobs gone South

10. Mining Displacement of people in the communities and contamination of the environment

11. Mina San Miguel – Canadian Mining- Gold Corp

12. ? Next Learning Tour to GuatemalaLearning Tour to Guatemala October 7-17, 2013

13. MCC’s response – Root Causes Relief Development Peace

14. Current Comprehensive Immigration Reform proposals do not have any responses to the Root Causes of Migration Only domestic policy changes, increased law enforcement, and border security measures. MCC U.S. Immigration Policy Principle # 6: Address political instability and economic disparity in migrants’ home countries caused, in part, by U.S. foreign policies and trade agreements. Create incentives for sustainable development.

15. http://immigration.mcc.org http://washington.mcc.org/immigration http://immigration.mcc.org http://washington.mcc.org/immigration @mccwashington - @mccimmigration © 2012 Mennonite Central Committee