CHAPTER 8:

GLOBAL
FLOWS OF
MIGRANTS Ismael, Alyza
Guro, Benladin
Panolong, Anafarinah
GEC103 - Xx3
 Migrants
- A person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across
an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons.
- Encompasses both vagabonds and tourists. Vagabonds are those that are on the move because they have
to be; because, for example, they find their environment unbearable, inhospitable for any number of
reasons, and are forced to find better circumstances elsewhere. In contrast, tourists are those who are on
the move because they want to be. It is also the case that tourists move because they can afford to, while
vagabonds feel they cannot afford to remain where they are.
- Migrants do make up a significant percentage of the population of many countries. For example, among
OECD nations, almost a quarter of the population of Australia and Switzerland are migrants, under 20
percent of Germany's population are migrants, and 12 percent of the US population (in 2005) were
migrants (Roberts, 2008), while in Great Britain and France migrants comprise just under 10 percent of
the population.

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 Migration
- The movement of a person or people from one country, locality, place of residence, etc., to settle
in another.

International migration has four components –

• the in - migration of persons to a country other than that of their place of birth or citizenship
• the return migration of nationals to their home country after residing abroad
• the out - migration of nationals from their home country
• the out - migration of foreigners from a foreign country to which they had previously
immigrated

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 Migration
A combination of push and pull factors are usually used to explain migration.
• PUSH factors are the motivations of the migrants, contextual issues in the home country (e.g.
unemployment, low pay).
• PULL factors such as a favorable immigration policy in the host country, higher pay and
lower unemployment, formal and informal networks in such countries that cater to migrants,
labor shortages, and a similarity in language and culture between home and host country.
New ones in the global age: the global dispersion of information which makes it easier to find out
about, and become comfortable in, a host country. Then there is the interaction of global – local
networks, either through formal networks mediated by modern technologies such as mobile
phones and the Internet (especially e - mail and Skype).

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 Flow of Migrants to and from the US
ILLEGAL MEXICAN MIGRANTS TO THE US
- More than one - tenth of the US population were born outside the US and many of them arrived after a(nother)
great boom in immigration that began in the early 1990s. Many entered the US illegally. They come from various
countries (Philippines, China, El Salvador), but the largest number (at least one - third) come from Mexico. They
come (and often stay)because while they may be paid poverty wages by US standards (approximately $300 per
week), that may be as much as four times what they could earn in Mexico.
- Life is not easy for illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States. While they may be better off economically
than they were in Mexico, and than those who remained in or returned to Mexico, their life is problematic in
various ways.
• First, while they have improved their lives from an economic point of view, they remain largely marginal
economically in the US context.
• Second, their family life is often in shreds, with many family members (and friends) still in Mexico.
• Third, those who are in the US illegally are haunted by the possibility of being apprehended by the
immigration authorities, “ la migra ”.
 Flow of Migrants to and from the US
ILLEGAL MEXICAN MIGRANTS TO THE US
- The life of illegal Mexican immigrants in the US often shrinks to just the few square blocks of their immediate
neighborhood where they feel safe from la migra . This is also an area where they are not asked for what they do not
have – the crucial indicators of legitimacy – insurance cards, credit cards, Social Security cards, and “ Green ” cards.
- Illegal Mexican immigrants rely heavily on the underground economy. When they need to cash a check, they often
rely on check -cashing enterprises that charge exorbitant fees. Yet, with all these problems (and more), many prefer life
in the US to their old life in Mexico. To quote one, “Living here without papers is still better than living there ”.
- Many, leave the US because they regret the inability to interact with family members who remain in Mexico and the
loss of their support network. However, upon their return to Mexico, many of these people must deal with the
separation from family and friends who remain behind in the US. And, they are now separated by the newly reinforced
border as well as the difficulty in obtaining the funds necessary to finance an illegal trip across it to visit those still in
the US. Adding to the dissatisfaction of many who return to Mexico are the relatively poor wages and occupational
prospects there. For many, the life they left in the US seems far better than the way they now live in Mexico.
 Flow of Migrants to and from the US
MIGRANTS THROUGH MEXICO AND TO THE US

- In addition to the large number of illegal immigrants from Mexico, many others (an estimated 170,000
in 2006) make their way illegally from various Central American nations to the US. To get to the US, the
vast majority must travel through much of Mexico and across the Mexico – US border. One route is
through Mexico’s southern neighbor, Guatemala, wading across the Suchiate River (an “ open border ”),
on to the city of Tapachula, and from there undertaking an arduous 1,500 - mile trip to the US border.
This last stage involves a 250 - mile walk along the Chiapas coast to Arriaga where they swarm aboard
moving trains (an average of 300 – 500 people per day find their way on to such trains) and hang
precariously from them en route to the US.
- Before getting to the train, migrants must run a gauntlet of crooked federal police and robbers (and
rapists) who are likely to steal most of their already meager amount of money and other possessions.
INCREASED LAW ENFORCEMENT
- In the past, most migration, especially from Mexico, was a round - trip journey. However, it is increasingly
becoming one - way as migrants settle, often illegally, into life in the US (and elsewhere in the world).

There are several reasons for this:

• First, they are more likely to be able to get jobs outside of the agricultural sector. Such work is less
seasonal and more likely to be regular and stable.
• Second, many are moving beyond the southwestern border states and deeper into the US, thereby
making a return to Mexico more difficult and more expensive.
• Third, with the tightening of border controls since the 1980s, and especially after 9/11, it is simply more
difficult and more expensive to find a way to return to Mexico.

“ The primary effect of hardening the border has been one of locking people in ” Navarro, 2006). About 47
percent of illegal immigrants returned to Mexico between 1979 and 1984, but the percentage of returns had
declined to 27 percent between 1997 and 2003. And the longer immigrants stay in the US, the lower the
probability that they will return.
INCREASED LAW ENFORCEMENT
- The fence between the US and Mexico that was in existence in late 2007, as well as increased border
patrols, was said to have produced a 22 percent drop in apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the
border, but others claim that the drop may be, at least in part, the result of other factors. That fence
merely led many illegal immigrants to use other, more dangerous, routes into the US. Simultaneously,
there are proposals to make it tougher for legal immigrants to become US citizens, by increasing fees,
making the English and history exams more difficult, and by delving more deeply into applicants ’ past
lives. In addition to the fence, the US employs many other tools to police its borders with Mexico:
drones, helicopters, heeps, horses, mountainbikes, buggies, seismic sensors, and officers patrolling the
border crossings.
- The impact of increased enforcement of immigration laws is being felt throughout the US even as far
north as upper New York State where natives engaged in already marginal farming are increasingly
threatened by the loss of their low - paid illegal immigrant workers from Mexico (Bernstein, 2006)
- The result of increased law enforcement is that deportation rates are up dramatically.
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