Colombian Migration

To The United States of America

ByJuan Carlos Leon

“One of the Juan Gonzalez thesis is that

the Latin American migration into the United States is a result of the USA processes of territorial expansion, colonization and economic/political hegemonic over the Latin American

countries.”

Prof. Luis Alvarez-Lopez, Ph.D. Immigration and Public Policy 2012, The Today Historical Roots of the labor system.

Intro

Named after Christopher Columbus 49% are Mestizos, 37% are White, 10.6% Afro Colombian

(including Mulattos), 3.4% Amerindian, 0.01% Romani. Colombia´s capital city has a lower murder rate than the USA´s

capital city Colombia is home to the biggest theater festival, biggest salsa

festival, biggest flower parade, biggest outdoor horse parade and second biggest carnival in the world

Bogotá has the most extensive network of cycle routes out of every city in Latin America and almost the world

Colombia is the worlds third largest manufacturer of women’s lingerie

Colombia has the tallest seaside mountain in the world: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

Facts

Based on the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

the external Colombian population is 4.7 million or almost 10% of the country’s population.

34.6% are in the United States, 23.1% in Spain, 20% in Venezuela, 3.1% in Ecuador and 2% in Canada. The rest are scattered out throughout the world

The largest South American ethnic group in the United States

The seventh-largest population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting for 1.9% of the U.S.

Figures

Figures

www.migrationinformation.org

Figures

Source: Department of Homeland Security, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, 2008. Figures include only immigrants who obtained legal permanent resident status.

Search for better job opportunities, which

means demand for unskilled labor in developed countries and higher pay skilled labor force in developed countries

Family reunification is an important motivation for migrating

Supply of higher education studies in other countries

Political, social, economic problems & insecurity, have fueled both voluntary and forced migration

Reasons

The most well-known concentration of Colombians

in the U.S are in Queens, NY, in the areas of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Corona & Woodside

Other States are: New Jersey, Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut & Texas

Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Colombia

Where?

A negative loss of talent for Colombia because the

majority of migrants tend to be better educated and in the prime of working life; making it a “brain drain” diaspora.

Positive because of remittances; which have

surpassed the value of coffee exports

Effects

Voices of Colombia from the Streets of Chicago

Colombian Americans Documentary

The Colombian Connection: Part I

The Colombian Connection: Part II

Voices

Centro Civico Colombiano in Queens, New York

Colombian American Coalition in Miami

The Colombian Way

Websites

Collier, Michael W., “Colombian Migration to South Florida: A Most Unwelcome Reception (Working Paper No. 9)”

(2004). LACC Working Paper Series (2001-). Paper 2. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/laccwps/2 John Leon. Turning brain drain into brain gain: the Colombian experience of the diaspora option. By .

http://www.academia.edu/1854585/Turning_brain_drain_into_brain_gain_the_Colombian_experience_of_the_diaspora_option

Juan Gonzalez. Chapter Nine, Colombians and Panamanians: Overcoming Division and Disdain. Harvest of Empire, A History of Latinos in America.

Luis Eduardo Guarnizo, Arturo Ignacio Sanchez & Elizabeth M. Roach (1999) Mistrust, fragmented solidarity, and transnational migration: Colombians in New York City and Los Angeles, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22:2, 367-396, DOI: 10.1080/014198799329521

Luis Eduardo Guarnizo & Luz Marina Diaz (1999) Transnational migration: a view from Colombia, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22:2, 397-421, DOI: 10.1080/014198799329530

Colombia Nos Une. Fortaleciendo vinculos con los colombianos en el exterior. http://www.redescolombia.org Myriam Berube, Migration Information Source, Colombia: In the Crossfire. Seth Motel and Eileen Patten, Hispanics of Colombian Origin in the United States, 2010, PewResearch Hispanic

Center. June 27, 2012. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/06/27/hispanics-of-colombian-origin-in-the-united-states-2010/

Boston Redevelopment Authority. http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/pdf/ResearchPublications//ColombianImmigrantsinBoston.pdf

Immigration in America, http://immigrationinamerica.org/441-colombian-immigrants.html?newsid=441 Helen B. Narrow, Harvard University, Colombian Americans.

http://helenmarrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Marrow_2005_EL_ColombianAmers.pdf

Sources