Migration
When applied to people, migration refers to the movement of people from one country to another with the intention of settling either permanently or temporarily (but not just passing through). People whose lifestyles cause them to move continually from one place to another (such as carnival workers, traditional hunter-gatherers, and seasonal farm laborers) are said to be “nomadic.” While some migrants move voluntarily—looking for better opportunities in a different place—others are compelled to leave their homes by persecution and threats of violence. Some migrants move within the borders of the same country (internal migration) while others cross international borders (international migration).
Emigration
The act of leaving ones own country in order to settle in another country.
Immigration
The act of moving into another country in order to settle there.
Ravenstein’s Migration Laws: Ernst Georg Ravenstein, was born in Germany but lived all of his professional life as a cartographer in Great Britain (1834-1913). Beginning in 1865 he began publishing what became known as Ravenstein’s Migration Laws based on his observations of human migration patterns. These principles are:
Every migration flow generates a return or counter-migration. For example, in the decades between 1914 and 1970, millions of African Americans became fed up with the discrimination and poverty they suffered in the South and moved to major cities in the North. Beginning in the 1970s, as discriminatory laws were dismantled and as the South’s economy boomed, a much smaller migration occurred as African Americans whose parents and grandparents had left the South decades earlier moved back to the South.
The majority of migrants move a short distance.
Migrants who move longer distances tend to choose major sources of economic activity.
Urban residents are often less migratory than inhabitants of rural areas.
Families are less likely to make international moves than young adults.
Most migrants are adults.
Large towns grow by migration rather than natural population growth.
More long distance migrants are male.
More long distance migrants are adult individuals rather than families with children.
Migrants move in stages or “steps” from their point of origin to the place they want to end up.
Refugee: A person who has been forced to leave his or her country in order to escape war, persecution, poverty, or natural disaster.
Internally Displaced People: People who have been forced to leave their homes but move within the country in which they already live.
Intervening Obstacles: An environmental or cultural factor that hinders migration. The inability to speak the language of the place one homes to immigrate to, or a lack of resources to make the move are examples of Intervening Obstacles.
Push Factors in Emigration: Migrants tend to leave their homes because circumstances are in some way pushing them away. Common “Push” factors are poverty, discrimination, political repression, or environmental changes that make it impossible to stay.
Pull Factors Immigration: People who decide that they want to come to the United States, Australia, Europe, or elsewhere are persuaded that, in their new homes, they will find opportunities to work and escape poverty, acceptance rather than discrimination, freedom rather than oppression, and a safe environment.
Chain Migration: People rarely migrate alone, and when they succeed in making a new home for themselves in a new place they are often followed by others from their old home. Chain Migration is the process by which migrants from a particular town follow others from that town to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country.
Types of Migration:
Voluntary migration occurs, as the name implies, when migrants hope for a better life in a new place. They may not be entirely happy with their original home, but the decision to leave is freely made.
Forced migration occurs when migrants are threatened with violence or persecution, or are forcibly expelled from their home region or country.
International migration occurs when migrants move from one country to another
Internal migration occurs when migrants move within their home country.
Legal and illegal migration:
Image by US Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Some countries require official permission in the form of an exit visa to leave the country. While this was fairly common among Soviet Block countries during the Cold War, in the 21st century most countries make it quite easy to leave, whether for a quick visit, a job, or permanently. One glaring exception to this happy state of affairs is North Korea. Citizens of North Korea require permission from the government to leave the country, even for a visit, and such permission is rarely given. People who try to sneak out of the country—most often to China—risk their lives in doing so. For an American citizen, in order to leave the country all that is really needed is a passport, which is a booklet issued by the State Department for a modest fee (in 2020, the total cost was about $145, but it is good for a decade). Technically, the passport is not needed to leave the United States but rather to enter another country. If you want to start planning your first international trip, you can begin the passport application process at the State Department’s Website.
Leaving a country is only half the challenge, whether you are a migrant or a tourist. You also have to get permission from the country you want to enter. Most countries—but not all—welcome tourists and people visiting for business or educational purposes. When your plane lands, you and all of your fellow passengers will be taken to a reception area where you will have to pass through customs and immigration. The customs officer may search your luggage looking for contraband). When entering the United States, the customs officer may be accompanied by a beagle who will be sniffing you and your luggage. He is looking for fresh fruits and vegetables, which might be harboring insects or diseases that could devastate American agriculture. The Immigration officer will look at your passport and, depending on the country you are visiting, ask you questions about the purpose of your visit, when you plan to leave, and whether or not you have enough money for the trip. You might be warned not to try to get a job in the country you are visiting. You will need a special visa to work or go to school, and you will have had to apply for those visas before your trip. Hopefully, the immigration officer will stamp your passport with your tourist visa and tell you to enjoy your visit. If she thinks you might be up to something, or if you are deemed to be undesirable for some reason, she will put you on the next plane back home. No vacation for you.
Not everyone who wants to move from one country to another has a passport. Every year, many thousands of people seek to enter a country illegally. If they succeed, they are referred to as illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is an enormously complex and controversial issue in the United States and in many other countries as well. Illegal immigrants face the same push and pull factors as does any other immigrant but, because far more people want to enter the United States than are permitted, many are refused entry. Having risked their lives and spent thousands of dollars to get to the border, the temptation to cross illegally is often overwhelming.
Citizenship
One of the great challenges of immigration is that, upon reaching a new home in a different country, the immigrant becomes a foreigner. In many cases, he or she will be making a home in a city where the language is strange, the available food unsettling, and the dominant religion unfamiliar. Cars might even be driven on the opposite side of the road. Making matters even more difficult for the new immigrant are the laws of the new homeland and one’s status as a resident alien rather than a citizen. Citizenship is, in most cases, automatically conferred on anyone born in a country (birthright citizenship). Citizenship is a legal status that gives the citizen certain rights—to vote for example—and certain responsibilities—such as military service. Every country has different laws regarding citizenship, but there are a few principles that are worth knowing:
Birthright Citizenship (or jus solis): The rights of citizenship are conferred by virtue of being born in the country (no matter what the citizenship status of the parents).
Jus Sanguinis Citizenship: The rights of citizenship are conferred when one or both parents are citizens. Most countries allow for a combination of jus solis and jus sanguinis citizenship.
Naturalization: Immigrants who meet specific requirements—such as gaining a basic understanding of the language, laws, and customs of the new country—can apply for citizenship by naturalization. This grants them the same rights of citizenship as birthright citizens.
Resident Alien: Immigrants who receive permission to live in a new country but have not yet become citizens have the status of resident aliens. Resident Aliens usually have the right to work and benefit from the country’s social safety net (such as unemployment insurance and health care), but usually cannot vote.
Dual Citizenship: Sometimes, people will be born in a country that grants them birthright citizenship while their parents retain citizenship in another country that confers their citizenship on the child as well. This child thus has dual citizenship and can hold passports from both countries. On the down side, they can be drafted into military service by both countries as well
Stateless People have either lost or never had the status of citizen in any country.
Renouncing Citizenship: Some countries require a new citizen to renounce his or her previous citizenship. When becoming a Unites States citizen, for example, the Oath of Naturalization begins with a promise to “absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty.” It is also possible, though usually a really, really bad idea, to renounce ones citizenship as an act of protest. Under American law, a renunciation has to take place in a foreign country and in the presence of a diplomatic officer. Having renounced citizenship in one country, he or she has now become voluntarily stateless. Under American law, once a US citizen has renounced his or her citizenship, it cannot be restored.
Causes of Migration
Push Factors and Pull Factors
Intervening opportunities (cultural, demographic, economic, environmental, political)
Intervening obstacles (op cit)
Forced and Voluntary Migration
Slavery (such as the Middle Passage)
Refugees
Internally displaced persons
Asylum seekers
Voluntary Migration: transnational, transhumance, internal, chain, step, guest worker, rural to urban
Historical and Contemporary effects of migration