Key Issue 3: Why Do People Migrate?

Provide Examples of Political, environmental, and economic push and pull factors.

Reasons for Migrating

  • A push factor induces people to move out of their present location.
  • A pull factor induces people to move into a new location.
  • Three types of push/pull factors
  1. Political
  2. Economic
  3. Environmental
  • Most people migrate for economic factors, but political and environmental factors can also play a role in migration reasons.

Political Push and Pull Factors

The UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for refugees) recognizes three groups of political migrants.

  1. Refugees have been forced to migrate to another country to avoid violence or human rights abuses or other disasters and are unable to return for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group, or political opinion.
  2. Internally Displaced Person has been forced to migrate for the same reasons as a refugee but has not crossed an international border yet.
  3. Asylum Seeker has migrated to another country in hopes of being recognized as a refugee.

A difficult question in immigration policy is how to distinguish between economic migrants and refugees. The United States, Canada, and Europe accept refugees but do not accept all economic migrants. Slavery was once a large political factor around the globe.

2010-United Nation Count

Refugees=10.6 million

IDP’s=14.7 million198,000 Refugees and 2.9 million IDP’s returned home in 2010.

Asylum Seekers=838,000

In 2010, the UNHCR recognized 26.1 million displaced people globally.

Environmental Push and Pull Factors

People will sometimes migrate for environmental reasons. They are pulled toward physically attractive regions and pushed from hazardous ones. Many people are forced to move by water-related disasters because they live in a vulnerable area like the floodplain of a river. A lack of water will often force people to migrate from an area.

  • People migrate toward physically attractive regions and migrate away from hazardous regions.
  • Mountains (Colorado/French Alps), seaside (England/ Mediterranean/Florida), and warm winter climates (Southern Spain/SW US/) tend to attract people. In the US 1.3 elderly choose Florida to retire.
  • Elderly people and retirees are particularly drawn towards coastal seaside.
  • Migrants can also be pushed away from their homes by environmental Disaster factors.
  • The presence or absence of water is the most common environmental factor that affects migration. Sahel in Africa has very low carrying capacity in relation to water and farming sustainability.
  • People who live on a floodplain can expect the flooding of their home region over a certain amount of time. Some don’t realize they live in a 100 year flood plain.

Migrating to Find Work

Summarize the flows of Migrant workers in Europe and Asia

Most people migrate for economic reasons. They migrate from areas with limited job prospects to areas where jobs are available. The United States and Canada has always been a magnet for migrants because of the economic opportunities. Attractiveness to a region can change. Ex: Ireland Net out migration during 19th and 20th Centuries-200, 000 a year 1850’s due to economic conditions-reversed in the 1990’s-economic prosperity-reversed again in 2008 economic collapse.

This graph indicates net-in/net-out migration to Ireland

Migration depending on Economic stability in the

country

A. Economic Push and Pull Factors

  • People migrate to areas with more job opportunities as opposed to areas with fewer job opportunities.
  • Many people came to North America for economic advancement.
  • Economic collapses drive people away from regions.
  • Economic migrants and refugees are treated radically different.
  • Refugeesare prioritized over economic migrants unless the migrants have a specialized skill.
  • Economic migrants are often not admitted into a country unless they have special skills or close relative already there. Some receive temporary work opportunities.
  • Refugees receive priority

B. Europe’s Migrant Workers

Northern and Western Europe contain 14 out of the 16 countries with the highest GDP in the world; therefore, they attract poorer immigrants from the south and east.

  • Poorer immigrants in Europe are willing to take low-status/low-skill paying jobs that the citizens would not.
  • Cities like Berlin, Brussels, Paris, and Zurich, immigrants drive busses, collect garbage, clean the streets, and wash dishes.
  • Immigrants in Europe are paid more than they would be back at their homes, and often send money back to their homes.
  • Several countries have guest worker programs that were designed to help people gain increased income temporarily, but workers often stay longer than they are permitted.
  • Many immigrants have now become permanent residents of their countries and the guest worker programs have now been discontinued by the governments.
  • The guest worker program in Germany/Europe during 1960s and 1970s allowed immigrants to temporarily move there to obtain a job. The first countries to emigrate were Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
  • Today: Turkey and North Africa replaced Southern Europe migrants. Eastern Europe, Poland, and Romania are the leading source of economic migrants to Europe.
  • The term “guest worker’ is no longer used in Europe and the government programs no longer exist. Many temporary workers remained permanently…along with their families and have become citizens.
  • Some places in Europe have large percentages of foreign-born citizens. Europe as a whole has 50% compared to North America foreign-born.

C. Asia’s Migrants Workers Many Chinese have traditionally emigrated to find work in other countries around the world. China’s booming economy is actually attracting immigrants from neighboring countries to China. Wealthy oil-producing countries in Southwest Asia are also attracting a large number of immigrants from poorer countries in the region.Asia is a major labor force today.

China -

  • China has many workers that migrate away to other countries for work, and China also attracts migrants.
  • China’s manufacturing sector attracts workers (Vietnamese) willing to work in Chinese factories.
  • 40 million Chinese live in other countries. 30 million in Southeast Asia, 5 million in North America, and 2 million in Europe. Chinese are 3/4th’s the population in Singapore and 1/4th in Malaysia.

Southwest Asia -

  • The oil fields of Southwest Asia attract many workers (Egypt/Yemen) to do dirty, dangerous jobs for little pay.
  • Most Southwest Asian countries (Except Israel/Oman) have few worker’s rights.
  • Governments fear that the numbers of immigrants are going to greatly affect the region’s culture.
  • Late 20th Century=Immigrants from: South/South east Asia, India, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand.