MIGRATION WITHIN THE AMERICAS

According to the article, Global Migration Patterns, migration can be defined as a

form of relocation diffusion (the spread of ideas, innovations, behaviours, from one place to
another) involving permanent move to a new location. The reasons that people migrate would
be due to push and pull factors. Push and Pull factors are forces that can either induce people
to move to a new location or oblige them to leave old residences.
According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC), there are three major migration patterns:

Migration between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century, mostly by
Europeans.
Intra-regional migration between 1970 and 1990 due to socio-economic and structural
developments.
Post 1990s migrations from South America to North America.

People migrate for many reasons; but why is/was there a huge migration among South
America, Central America, the Caribbean and North America (migration within the
Americas). The causes for the migration of these bodies of people can be categorised into
three main types: political causes, social causes and economic causes.

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POLITICAL CAUSES OF MIGRATION
The main political causes of migration are repression, tyranny and violence against
the population, lack of freedom of speech, incompetent governance, lack of political mobility,
and disagreement with the system of governance adopted.
Cubans, for example, leave their country due to political reasons. According to the
article, Why Cubans Continue to Leave the Country (2015) by Rosa Martinez, the people in
Cuba are faced political persecution and harrassment and are denied the right to criticise or
pass judgement on the things they believed to be ill-conceived. And those who try to oppose
the government are imprisoned.
Another case study is Venezuela. According to a document, Venezuelan Exodus:
Middle-Class Flees for United States (2014), Venezuelans are increasingly looking to the
United States as a safe haven due to widespread anti-government protests, which have shaken
the country since February of 2014. Street violence was already a problem in Venezuela, and
the conflicts surrounding the demonstrations have only made matters worse. No wonder
Venezuelans want to migrate.
Not only has Spanish countries in the Caribbean faced political imbalances: Jamaica
has also. In the latter parts of the 20th Century, companies and corporations lost confidence in
Michael Manley's Democratic Socialist government and his anti-American rhetoric and close
business ties to Cuba. Jamaica's huge foreign debt and the International Monetary Fund's
(IMF) restructuring of the economy further exacerbated the island's economic woes in the
1980s and 1990s. Due to that, Jamaicans fled the country. As a result, crime and violence
rose, in addition to poverty.

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ECONOMIC CAUSES OF MIGRATION
The main economic causes of migration are lack of jobs, poverty, economic inequality
stemming from the unequal distribution of wealth, and disagreements with the economic
system in place.
According to a Case Study by Alex Jackson, unemployment and poverty is a major
problem in Mexico and has risen exponentially in recent years. In 2000, unemployment rates
in Mexico were at 2.2, however, in 2009, they rose by 34.43%, leaving them standing at 5.37
in 2010. A large portion of the Mexican population are farmers, living in rural areas where
extreme temperatures and poor quality land make it difficult to actually farm. This is causing
many Mexican families to struggle, with 47% of the population living under the poverty line.
With these high unemployment and poverty rates, people are forced to move to America,
where they have better prospects, in order to be able to support their families and maintain a
reasonable standard of living.
Additionally, after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into
force, more than 1.3 million Mexican farmers were driven out of business, and wages and
jobs fell while prices rose. US agri-businesses sold corn in Mexico at lower prices than
farmers in that country could produce. As a result, undocumented immigration from Mexico
has risen from 332,000 since 1993 to 530,000 in 2000--a 60 percent increase since the
passage of NAFTA. This was according to the Public Citizens Global Trade Watch.
Similarly, it appears that migrants leave Jamaica predominantly for economic reasons.
Earning more, sending remittances home, and accessing steady employment have been the
main motivations cited for departure (each cited as important for around 60 percent of
Jamaican migrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute). So it is unsurprising that the
main countries of destination for Jamaican migrants are the United States, Canada, and the
United Kingdom, which have established Jamaican communities as well as stronger
economies and higher wages than Jamaica. Additionally, like Mexico, Jamaica has faced
great poverty, and still is facing it. The result is that a larger proportion of the population now
falls below the poverty line and inequality has risen, in many instances heightening
vulnerabilities of the most-at-risk populations, including women and young people.

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SOCIAL CAUSES OF MIGRATION
The main social causes of migration are crime and violence, inequality, poor
infrastructural development and poor social services.
According to another Case Study, there are incredibly high crime rates in Mexico,
especially in the capital. Homicide rates come in at around 10-14 per 100,000 people (world
average 10.9 per 100,000) and drug related crimes are a major concern. It is thought that in
the past five years, 47,500 people have been killed in crimes relating to drugs. Many
Mexicans will move out of fear for their lives and hope that America is a more stable place to
live, with lower crime rates.
Colombias infrastructure is one of the worst in Latin America, according to the World
Economic Forum. Of the top twelve economies in the region, Colombia has the tenth poorest
provision of vital infrastructure, despite the promise by President Juan Manuel Santos to
make the issue a priority of his administration. Due to this, Colombians have migrated to the
North towards better infrastructure.
The same can be said about Jamaica, with its high crime rate. According to the United
Nations, Jamaica has the 6th highest murder rate worldwide. Since last year, the murder toll
has surpassed 1000 people since the start of the year. Another cause for migration in Jamaica
are the poor infrastructures. In every parish in Jamaica, one can find a bad road with
numerous potholes in it. This is another reason why Jamaicans migrate to the US.

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CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION
Migration on a whole has a lot of consequences. But lets look at the impacts of it
using some Case Studies done by Alex Jackson.
SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION
Accumulation of Mexicans in American communities has been problematic. For
example, many Mexicans cannot speak English fluently and studies show that their ability to
speak English doesnt improve drastically whilst they live in the US. This is largely due to
them living in closed communities of other Mexican immigrants which reduces their need to
associate with America. As a result, there is tension between migrants and locals which leads
to segregation and crime and violence. In addition, as Mexico is a country associated with
drug trafficking, Mexican migrants smuggle drugs into America, creating the problem of drug
related crimes.
With so many young people leaving Mexico, the population is only filled with the
elderly who cannot work. Furthermore, the lack of young fertile couples is reducing the birth
rate in Mexico, further increasing the dependency ratio as there is no workforce to pay taxes
to support the elderly.
Additionally, the majority of migrants who leave Mexico are males, leaving a
population with a high number of females. This is problematic as they are unable to find
partners, get married and, in a mostly catholic country, have children. This is, as mentioned
above, reducing the birth rate and increasing the dependency ratio.
Despite the negative impacts of migration regarding the Mexicans, there are few
contributions of it. For example, the introduction of Mexican cultural traditions to America
have helped to improve cultural aspects of the US. Mexican themed food has become
incredibly popular in America with burrito and taco fast food shops being opened across the
country. The new food & music has helped to improve the cultural diversity of America
significantly.
Secondly, with such a large number of Mexican migrants not speaking English
fluently, it is now common for Spanish to be taught in American schools, widening the skill
set of the younger population and improving the potential career opportunities that students
may have. This also helps ease social tensions caused by people speaking different languages
which locals do not comprehend.
Similarly, with Jamaica, the receiving country (America) benefits from migration as
Americans get to learn about the Jamaican culture (mostly the language and the music) and
they also get to experience the delicious Jamaican cuisine. However, the migration has an
impact to the sending country. Mostly skilled workers and tertiary level students migrate to
the US to seek jobs and education respectively, leaving the country in a loss of human
resources.

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ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION
Mexican migrants often take low paying, menial jobs, which, while low paying, offer
higher wages than what they would have earned in Mexico. This was, at first, advantageous,
as many Americans did not want these low paying jobs but companies needed people to fill
these jobs. Now, as unemployment rises in America, Americans want these menial jobs but
many migrants already have taken the jobs. This, as a result, has lead to increased social
tension as Americans believed that their jobs are being taken.
While legal Mexican migrants are working and paying taxes, they often send money
they earn back to their families in Mexico (remittances), rather than spending it in America,
which can affect the countrys economy as there is less money being spent on products which
are taxed in America. Conversely, the increased amount of money being sent back to Mexico
is helping its economy greatly as people now have money to spend on goods and services.
Also, it is noted that Mexicos population is very dependent on food grown in Mexico.
Unfortunately, the majority of migrants come from rural areas, leaving a shortage of farmers
and therefore the potential for food shortages in Mexico as the economically active people
from rural areas leave.
The economic impacts of Mexico can be compared to Jamaica. According to the
Migration Policy Institute, migrants from Jamaica would send down money back to their
home country, which would help the households and the country on a whole (due to the fact
that the exchange rate is currently US$1 = JA$120). Furthermore, skilled health and
education workers who do return appear to have a mainly positive impact. For example,
returning academics have gained valuable new experiences, which in turn have helped boost
standards in Jamaican tertiary institutions.

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POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION
The political impacts of migration on a whole are:
I.
II.
III.

Discrimination against ethnic groups & minorities which can lead to civil unrest and
extremism.
Calls for control on immigration.
Entrenchment of attitudes which may encourage fundamentalism.

Mexico, for example, has ended having immigration control, with the USA border
being created. This border allows for the use of electronic equipment such as heat sensors,
night vision goggles, air vehicles & Black Hawk helicopters, with 9,150 border control
agents. Another example of immigration control is the prevention of illegal crossings between
Florida and Cuba by sea patrols.
Similarly, in Jamaica, there are border control modus operandi. According to the
Migration Policy Institute, there are two principal laws governing international migration in
Jamaica the Aliens Act (1946) and the Immigration Restriction (Commonwealth Citizens)
Act (1954) which focus on controlling immigration by regulating the entry of foreign
nationals for the purpose of employment. Also, since recently, the government has taken steps
to reduce human trafficking in Jamaica. The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression
and Punishment) Act became law in 2007. The law's provisions include punishing persons
involved in human trafficking with prison terms of up to 10 years.

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References
citizen.org. (2003). Failed Trade Policy & Immigration: Cause & Effect.
Pennsylvania, Washington, United States.
Glennie, A., & Chappell, L. (2010). Jamaica: From Diverse Beginning to Diaspora
in the Developed World. The Online Journal of the Migration Policy
Institute.
Martinez, R. (2015). Why Cubans Continue to Leave the Country. Havana Times.
Venezuelan Exodus: Middle-Class Flees for United States. (2014, April 18).
Retrieved from Fusion: http://fusion.net/story/5331/venezuelan-exodusmiddle-class-flees-for-united-states/