MigrationElizabeth Reid

Important Terms

Migration – long distance move to a new location

Net Migration – gain or loss in the total population of an area because of migration

Net in-migration – more people immigrating than leaving

Net out-migration – more people leaving than arriving

Immigration – moving to a location (in-migration)

Emigration – moving from a location (out-migration)

Gross Migration – total number of migrants moving into and out of a place

Migration Stream – pathway from a place of origin to a destination

Migration counterstream – people moving back to the place of origin from the new place

Mobility – ability to move from one place to another (permanently or temporarily)

Circulation – short term, repetitive, or cyclical movements that recur on a regular basis

Why do people migrate?

Push/Pull Factors

PUSH factors cause people to move out of their location

PULL factors cause people to move into a new location

Three Types: Economic, Cultural, and Environmental

Economic Push/Pull Factors

Push factors

Not enough job opportunities

Pull factors

Areas with lots of natural resources

Job opportunities

Places that used to have net out-migration are not hot spots for immigration b/c of the discovery of new natural resources

Cultural Push/Pull Factors

Forced internal migration Slavery

Political instability

Examples Jews

Deportation of Armenians after WWI

Palestine after establishment of Israel

Environmental Push/Pull Factors

Push Factors

Adverse physical conditions

Flooding

Hurricane Katrina

Natural Disaster

Japanese earthquake

Drought

Northern Africa

Pull factors

Attractive locations

Alps, Rocky Mountains, Mediterranean coast of France

Climate

Arizona and Florida

People can live anywhere due to improved technology

Intervening Obstacles

Where migrants go is not always their desired destination – blocked by intervening obstacles

In the past, mainly environmental obstacles Transportation on horse, boat, or foot

Today, political issues are more the obstacles Passports and documentation

Types of Migration Voluntary Migration

Choice to move

Usually due to job opportunities, family links, unemployment conditions, high wage differentials, etc

Pushed from land

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

People who are uprooted within the boundaries of their own country because of global conflict or human rights abuse

Forced Migration

Internal Migration

Movement within a country Interregional

Movement from one region to another within the same country

Today principally rural to urban migration

Intraregional

Movement within one region

International Migration

Permanent movement from one country to another

Historical Internal Migration: US

1st Wave: Westward Settlement

Manifest Destiny

Rural-to-urban

2nd Wave: 1940s-1970s

African Americans migrating from the rural South

3rd Wave: Cold War Jobs

Emergence of Subelt

Migration from rural to urban areas began in the 1800s

Most moving for economic opportunities

Urban to Suburban Migration

Migration from cities to suburbs in developed countries

Related to change in lifestyle (better schools, safer neighborhood)

Migration from urban to rural areas – late 20th century

Counterurbanization: net migration from urban to rural areas Less hectic life, new technology

Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration

19th century – used data from England to outline a series of “laws” explaining patterns of migration

Three categories

Why migrants move

Distance they typically move

Characteristics of migrants

Migration selectivity

Evaluate how likely someone is to migrate based on personal, social, and economic factors

Most long distance migrants are male

Most long distance migrants are young adults

Migration impacted by push/pull factors

Economic factors are main cause of migration

Long distance migrants go to centers of commerce and industry

Urban residents are less migratory

Gravity Model

Larger places attract more migrants than smaller places

Closer places attract more migrants than distant places

Limitations Does not factor selectivity

factors (age and education)

Human behavior doesn’t always fit predicted patterns

Migration Transition Model

Identified by Wilbur Zelinsky

Change in migration patterns in a society that results from social and economic changes that also produce the demographic transition

Stage 1

High CBR/CDR

Daily/seasonal mobility in search of food – internal migration

Stage 2

High CBR/dropping CDR

Overtaxing resources, can’t push out immigrants

Migration result of technological change

International migration

Some interregional

Stage 3

Slowing growth rates

Social change – fewer children

Destinations for international migrants

Stage 4

Less emigration, more intraregional migration

Migration Patterns

Eras of US Immigration

Era I: colonial immigration (1600s-1776)

From Africa and Europe

Africa: slaves forced to migrate

European: voluntary to escape harsh economic conditions and persecution

Era II: 19th Century from Europe

40 million pulled by economic opportunity

Mainly from Germany, Italy, UK, Ireland, and Russia

3 surges in second era

1840s-1850s: 4.3 million from Northern and Western Europe

1880s: 500,000 migrants, many from Scandinavia

1900-1914: 2 million, mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe

Era III: 1970s-present

Asian and Latin American immigrants

Pushed by poor home conditions, land shortage, rapid population increase

Undocumented Immigration

Legal immigration reached highest level in 20th century

More people want to enter than allowed (undocumented immigrants) – 11.9 mil in 2008

Creates conflict over jobs and taxes

Cluster in California and New York Metro Area

Chain Migration: migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there

South and West have rapid job growth

Immigration

Policies

US Quota Laws

1921 and 1924, discriminated against non-Europeans

Current Global Quota: 620,000 with a 7% max from one country

Issues

Brain Drain: large scale emigration of talented people

Temporary Migration for Work

Time Contract Workers: recruited for a fixed period to work in mines or on plantations

Many stayed when contract expired

Guest Workers: sending workers abroad to lessen local unemployment and help home countries

Economic Migrants/Refugees

Difficult to distinguish between economic migrants and refugees fleeing government persecution (Cuba and Haiti)

Economic migrants not admitted unless they have special skills or a close relative – Refugees have priority Cubans regarded as political refugees since 1959

Refugees: People who have ben forced to migrate from their homes and cannot return for fear of persecution People who cross national boundaries to seek safety

asylum

Review Game!Gravity Model

Chain Migration

Job opportunities

Interregional Migration

Wilbur Zelinsky Quota

Laws

Brain Drain

Emigration

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

Migration Selectivity

Ravenstein

Circulation

Intervening Obstacles

Guest Workers