Migration

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Migration Immigration and Refugees
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Migration is defined as a permanent or
semi-permanent change of residence and involves
the crossing of national or international
borders. Migration refers to the movement and
Immigration refers to the end product once the
destination has been reached. A great deal of
migration is due to Fast-Tracking (trying to
keep up with the process of economic and social
development). In other cases migration is due to
simply trying to stay alive! Overpopulation has a
lot to do with this.
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In a typical year 1.5 million people move from
one country to another. In todays world 150
million people are migrates according to the IOM
(International Organization for Migration)
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The IOM helps migrants with information, medical
aid, language training and assistance with
documentation like passports and visas. Canada is
one of the world leaders in receiving migrants.
About 16 of all Canadians are foreign born.
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• Causes of migration are divided into push factors
  and pull factors
• push factors are things like starvation,
  political and religious persecution, and war
• pull factors attract people to new destinations
  economic opportunity, political and/or religious
  freedoms
• physical geography can also be a pull or push
  factor, at least peoples perceptions of physical
  geography warmer, colder etc.

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• Four types of migration
• 1. Primitive migration associated with
  preindustrial societies and usually caused by
  some sort of environmental necessity, e.g.,
  following game, loss of soil fertility,
  overcrowding due to population growth.
• 2. Forced migration is when people have no choice
  but to move, usually but not always as a result
  of political circumstances. Examples slavery,
  contract labour, Jews forced from Germany in
  1930s.

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• 3. Free migration is when people decide to move
  based on the desirability of a place. Mainly
  from Europe, and largely in the 19th century due
  to demographic and technological changes. Brief
  period that have huge impacts as millions moved
  out of Europe. Basically in search of jobs!

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• 4. Illegal Migration occurs when a country
  prohibits out-migration or when people enter a
  country without going through normal or proper
  procedures. Examples include Mexicans into the
  US and Chinese boatloads into Canada. It is a
  growing problem. Also called undocumented,
  irregular or illegal immigrants.

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• How does Migration take place
• movements of people follow flows of trade, goods
  or the most convenient transport routes away from
  a situation
• some follow information from migrants who
  preceded them, often family members
• this creates what is called migration chains
  between the source and the final destination. A
  good example are the Italians in Toronto and
  their extended families.
• Most of this migration is Economic, from poor to
  rich.

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• For example 1 American goes to Mexico for every
  6 Mexicans that go to the U.S.
• Sojourners are migrants who only stay long
  enough to save enough capital to return home to a
  better standard of living. This is a strong force
  since they do the same job in the U.S. and get
  10X more than they would in lets say Mexico.
  Sometimes they are called Temporary (Migrate)
  workers. Germany depends a lot on migrate
  workers.
• The ILO (International Labour Organization) sets
  human and labour standards to protect these
  workers conditions.

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• Technology has made migration easier,
  transportation, email etc.
• in some cases, migrants have harmed the
  traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples
  migrants bring in different culture,
  traditions, lifestyle etc.
• the UN estimates that there are some 300 million
  of these people in some 70 countries who were
  subjugated by another people coming after them

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• Not all migration is voluntary, eg., slavery or
  refugees
• The 1951 Geneva Convention states that a refugee
  is someone with a well-founded fear of being
  persecuted in his or her country of origin for
  reasons of race, religion, nationality,
  membership of a group or political opinion.
• external refugees seek refuge in another country
  internal refugees in the same country
• Environmental refugees are forced to move due to
  environmental deterioration.

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• Many claim to be political refugees but its hard
  to separate them from the economic refugees
  seeking a higher material standard of living.
• Some countries have broadened this definition to
  include women from places where customs place
  them in a vulnerable position to men. Canada
  is one of these.

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• International and civil wars have boosted the
  number of refugees, especially in the 1990s.
• Wars tend to blur the picture of refugee flows
  because wars cause massive economic disruption,
  so that refugees tend to be poverty-stricken as
  well as in flight for political reasons.

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• The impact of international migration is great.
• Immigrants are often greeted with apprehension
  and immigration has become a politically hot
  issue in many countries receiving countries.
• There are some misconceptions that have been
  statistically proven false.
• Take the jobs of existing citizens
• Many of them are criminals
• Go directly on welfare
• They are a burden on social services.

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• There are three reasons for this, apart from
  outright racism.
• 1. Official statistics underrepresented the
  numbers, as illegal immigration is rising
  everywhere.
• 2. Migrants are in peak years of fertility and
  therefore are adding to total population growth.
• 3. Migrant settlements are concentrated and this
  adds to visibility and increases the perception
  of cultural differences.

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• Immigrants are tolerated in larger numbers during
  economic good times, when they are not seen as
  competitors for scarce jobs.
• No country in the world has completely free
  immigration and most severely restrict refugees.
• Canada has a point system and a quota system and
  is presently tightening its policy as well

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• The Future?
• It used to be that migrants moved from a
  developed country to a country that was actually
  developing. For example from Europe to North
  America. This type was actually economically
  sound. Today the movement is from a poor
  developing country to a developed country. The
  developed country is finding it difficult to
  absorb these immigrants.
• Today there is more migration within a country.
  People are more mobile.

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• The push and pull factors will get stronger,
  creating more migration.
• More rapid population growth in developing world
  coupled with excess labour supply, rising social
  and political turbulence, and widening gap
  between rich and the poor will create increased
  migration.
• Also, global media spreading images of the good
  life in the West/North/developed world serves as
  a magnet.

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• Urbanization is increasing creating mega-cities.
• There is now actually a two-step migration
  process 1. Rural to Urban and then 2. Move to
  another country.
• People from Latin America, South America and
  East Asia are moving to North America.
• People from Africa and the Middle East are
  moving to Europe.

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• Some countries will be glad to get rid of excess
  labour, especially if it is disruptive and/or if
  it sends back remittance wages.
• This is money sent back from family members
  working abroad.
• Eg., Mexicans working in the US send 4B annually
  back to the country, the 4th largest source of
  income for that country.

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• Finally, there is the issue of the brain drain,
  wherein skilled and well-educated people leave a
  country for better life.
• Many head to the US, but also Canada, Europe,
  Australia.
• Undermines the ability of a country to develop. A
  country educates and trains people, just to have
  them leave.
• Advanced countries (like the US and Canada) are
  reluctant to expel bad immigrants since they
  would just go to another country anyway.

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The End!