Internal Migration in Mexico

Unit 3: Migration

12/16/16

Original article can be found here

Synopsis:

          Many people think that Mexicans only migrate to the US. However, this is just based on what they see on the news and is not really true. Many Mexicans choose to migrate internally rather than internationally to the US. Emigration has actually been declining from Mexico yet the media has only been focusing on the statistics of those coming into the US rather than the increase of the ones who are not. Mexicans do not always find the hassle of moving to the US worth the trouble anymore but they feel like they don’t have any other option. However, recently they have been choosing to migrate internally to more prosperous areas of Mexico. Additionally, since 2009 more than 1 million native-born Mexicans living in the US returned to Mexico. This shows that conditions in Mexico are not the same as the used to be in the 1980’s and 1990’s and that people are now choosing to stay. These changes aren’t really due to more border control but rather due to changing conditions in Mexico and growing opportunities.

Analysis:

          Mexican emigration to the US has begun to decrease in recent years. Instead of internationally migrating more and more people are choosing to look for work and opportunity in other parts of the country. It is much easier to stay in the same country with the same culture and traditions rather than moving to somewhere completely different. Therefore, the consensus is that if people can prevent having to cross the border they would. In the region of Oaxaca in Mexico, internal migration has always existed. A lot of people in that area have found work as itinerant vendors traveling throughout the country and working on coastal plantations during the harvest season. Increasingly, more people have tried to find work within Mexico rather than resorting to migrating to the US. People have started inventing new jobs and it has worked out pretty well. Mexico City has also been on the receiving end of a lot of emigration from the rest of the country. Although it is true that moving to the US would earn people higher wages, migrating within Mexico has been a good alternative and has been improving the country’s economy. People are also okay with lower wages as long as they get to keep their traditions. In my opinion if this immigration is encouraged more it could potentially solve everyone’s problems. It will continue to decrease immigration to the US, which has been very controversial, and will help Mexico as well. The issue of Mexican emigration has been all over the news and has caused a lot of controversy. President-Elect Trump’s whole campaign was based on building a wall between Mexico and the US, however it is important to look into other solutions first before resorting to that. Mexican immigration to the US has already been decreasing (since 2009 1 million Mexicans have left) and in order to keep it that way internal migration should be further encouraged. Right now six million Mexicans are moving within the nation’s borders. Many of these emigrants don’t want to move to a different country anyway, they just want a better life. As we talked about in the class, the biggest pull factor for emigrants is economic. People just want to find a job to support their families and most likely don’t want to change their culture. Therefore, finding opportunities within the country is the right way to go about the issue.

Understanding Unauthorized Immigration

Unit 3: Migration

12/9/16

Original article can be found here 

Synopsis:

          Unauthorized immigration has grown throughout the years. People are migrating more and more throughout the world without legal documentation. This keeps occurring even with the preventive methods of walls, fences, barriers, guards, and patrol ships so it is important to know why. The dynamics of most unauthorized immigrants is the same even though they come from different countries. Most people dismiss the notion of understanding unauthorized immigrants but it is essential in order to try to find a solution that benefits everyone. Being narrow-minded about these immigrants won’t result in anything. Hundreds of thousands of lives are lost in failed attempts at migration so it is an important issue that people need to understand. The global pattern shows that people move from developing countries to developed countries because their home countries can no longer provide for them. This root problem needs to be solved or else the problem of unauthorized immigration is going to continue on.

Analysis:

          Most people are concerned with stopping unauthorized immigration but they don’t take the time to stop and understand it first. Excluding refugees who are more than 21 million people, there are another 50 million unauthorized migrants. The countries with the largest numbers are the US with 11 million, India with another 10 million, and the Russian Federation at 4 million. On the news a lot, especially in the US, unauthorized immigration is a focus of a lot of political parties. For example, President-Elect Donald Trump’s campaign revolved around building a wall between Mexico and the US to block out these unauthorized immigrants. Everyone talks about it but no one seems to want to resolve the problem by understanding it first. A common way people become unauthorized immigrants is by overstaying their visa. Additionally, based on a recent international survey the number of people who express a desire to immigrate to another country is estimated to be around 1.3 billion. This number shows that people all over the world are not happy with where they live and everyone as a whole should work to solve this. The people wishing to migrate don’t have a legal way to move so they resort to doing so illegally. In class we talked about reasons why people might want to migrate called push and pull factors. Unauthorized immigrants are pushed by high unemployment, low wages, difficult living conditions, separated families, poor governance, human rights abuses, and limited prospects and they are pulled by the opposites. Essentially it is a combination of political, environmental, and economic factors that contribute to their decision. The economic success of the countries they wish to migrate to gives them hope. This corresponds with Ravenstein’s law that “long-distance migrants to other countries head for major centers of economic activity”. They feel like even with the risks of unauthorized immigration it would still be better than their current situation. This shows that even with countries doing so well with a good standard of life, other countries struggle to provide food, shelter, and a good life for their population. It is important to try to help these countries instead of just banning and trying to prevent unauthorized immigration because these methods do not seem to be working. As long as there are unlivable conditions in some countries, people will try to do anything so that they can get a better life. They will risk their lives and travel far to these lands in order to live a better life. The governments of the successful or stage 4 countries need to fix the root cause of unauthorized immigration first rather than simply “building a wall”. Unauthorized immigrants will always find a way unless their home situations are better which is what everyone should work towards. 

Britain’s Focus on Net Migration

Unit 3: Migration

12/2/16

Original article can be found here

Synopsis:

            Britain is currently actively working to reduce their net-migration. This movement has increased ever since David Cameron pledged to reduce it back in 2010 and has received more attention than ever before. Migration is an issue showing up in all of Britain’s politics and media. The goal for the government was to decrease the net migration to be below 100,000 however now it is more than three times as much as that at 327,000 people. Britain however, is the only country in Europe with an official maximum net migration target, and seems to be the most concerned with it. Net migration has been even higher than statistics predicted which is frustrating for the government. However, it still has a lower people to migrant ratio compared to the other European countries. Other countries have recognized how essential immigrants are to their country and economy. Nonetheless, Britain continues to work hard to try to decrease these rates and regards immigration as a huge problem.

Analysis:

          Britain has put a lot of focus on dealing with their migration problem. Their net migration is much more than what they want it to be. Their numbers don’t differ too much from the rest of Europe and are in fact a bit lower but to them it is a bigger issue. Britain has a 6.1 per 1000 people migrant ratio which isn’t that high compared to other countries. For example, in Germany it is 14.1, in Sweden 8.1, and in Luxembourg 19.6. These countries haven’t made controlling migration as much of a priority as Britain has even though their problem is seemingly bigger. They have recognized that immigration is essential for a successful economy and country as we have learned in class. However, in Britain strong public pressure has made the government implement new immigration policies. Currently the international immigrants are coming from four main groups. First, it is from British citizens moving out and into the country. The next group is the people from the European Economic Area (EFA) that they legally can’t limit. The third category is students and skilled professionals on work visas. The majority of migrants are in this category and are helpful to the country. The students provide financial contributions to Britain and the skilled professionals fill vital gaps in the labor market so it wouldn’t make sense to limit them. The fourth category is asylum seekers. These people are only a fraction of the migrants and have come as refugees because of bad conditions in their own countries. They have increased due to the recent issues in the Middle East as well as other places as we learned in class. This type of migration is sometimes voluntary and sometimes forced. However, they are legally protected by the International Human Rights norms so Britain can’t do too much about it. Therefore, Britain has to find some other way to decrease migration because doing so in these four categories wouldn’t make sense. Some say that the Brexit can help lower the rates though however that is falsely so. The push and pull factors that influence migratory flow are beyond legislative control and policies. There isn’t much a government can do about migration without hurting its economy because migrant workers are at the core of any successful country. For Britain however net migration might actually decrease after the Brexit but only because it will no longer be desirable to foreign and domestic workers and could actually end up hurting the country. Overall, Britain is very focused on reducing net-migration rates but I think there are better ways and things to work on to make the country more successful.