1. Migration
Chapter 3

2. 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)

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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)

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

21. 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

22. 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

24. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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)

30. 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

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

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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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.

36. 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

37. Notice break in fence >>>

38. Where would you rather live?????

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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

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

46. 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

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

49. 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

50. 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

51. 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

52. 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