Case study of international migration

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Case study of international migration

• Mexico to USA

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Why?
Where?
What?
Who?
When?
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Background information

• Theres been a wave of international migration
  from Mexico to the USA since the 1990s (economic
  boom) the USA now receives about 1 million
  Mexican migrants per year!
• At least 10 (over 10 million people) of Mexicos
  population is now living in the USA, at least
  half of which are illegally living there.
• 15 (1 in every 7) of Mexicos economically
  active (aged 18 -60) is working in the USA.
• The border between Mexico and the USA is over
  3,000km long!
• Mexican immigrants represent 1 in every 25 of the
  US workforce.
• Estimate only 1 in every 7 illegal migrants are
  caught.
• The easy routes into the US (eg San Diego, El
  Paso) are now tightly patrolled by border patrol.
  More dangerous routes are now taken (across
  deserts and mountains), with several migrants
  losing their life (due to dehydration or
  hypothermia)
• Many migrants pay human smugglers (aka coyotes)
  to get them across the border (expensive!)

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We are going to look at

• Some ideas that we have already looked at
• Push factors (from Mexico)
• Pull factors (towards USA)
• Intervening obstacles
• And a couple of new thoughts
• The effects of migration on Mexico good and bad
• The effects of migration on USA good and bad

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Images of Tijuana, Mexico...
This town is in on the border why might they
want to leave?
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There are many pushes which do you think are
the 4 most important?

• Lots of poverty (40 of populationn live below
  the poverty line).
• High unemployment underemployment rate (of
  28).
• Only a small range of jobs available.
• Low wages (especially in rural areas).
• Poor healthcare medical facilities (only 1
  doctor per 1800 people infant mortality rate is
  20 deaths per thousand live births).
• Poor education system (literacy rate is 92,
  which means that 8 of the population - just over
  8 million people - cannot read and write).
• Scarce polluted water resources in many areas.
• Poor response to natural disasters (such as
  earthquakes hurricanes).

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San Diego, California USA
Why might Mexicans want to go to the USA?
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There are many pulls which do you think are the
4 most important?

• Strong economy (GNP is over 40,000 per capita)
• Less poverty (12 live below the poverty line)
• Low unemployment/underemployment rate (5)
• Many low quality jobs available (eg gardener,
  maid, dishwasher) which require no training or
  education.
• Higher wages a rural migrant can earn up to 10
  x more doing the same job in the US.
• Excellent healthcare medical facilities (1
  doctor per 400 people infant mortality rate is
  only 6 deaths per thousand live births life
  expectancy is 78 years) although healthcare
  costs are high!
• Good education system (literacy rate is 99.)
• Clean, regular water supply piped to each house.
• Quick and effective response to natural
  disasters.

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What do you think might be intervening obstacles?
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There are many intervening obstacles which do
you think are the 4 most likely to put people off?

• Difficulty gaining an entry visa work permit
  (Green Card).
• If entering illegally, difficulty getting across
  the border (border walls and fences border
  patrol guards harsh landscapes to cross eg
  deserts, mountains, rivers).
• Long distance to travel.
• Lack of transport (no car).
• Cost of transport (expensive airfare or bus
  fare).
• Language difficulties (Mexicans speak Spanish,
  not English).
• Homesickness would miss family and friends back
  home in Mexico.
• Sick or elderly family members back home in
  Mexico need looking after..

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What do you think are the gains and loses for
Mexico as a result of the large numbers leaving
to work in USA?
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Effects of migration on Mexico (the donor
country)

• Benefits (Positive)
• Immigrants send home 20 billion a year back to
  Mexico many migrants send home at least 100
  each month.)
• This money can then support a better standard of
  living for those in Mexico (better quality
  housing, healthcare education).
• Less competition for jobs (less unemployment)
  housing in Mexico.
• Costs (Negative/ Problems)
• Large scale depopulation of towns and villages
  (eg the town of Tendeparacua popn in 1985 was
  6,000 now only 600).
• Many men emigrate, leaving a majority of women
  who have trouble finding marriage partners.
• Migration can break up families (wife on own with
  children, or the man wife in USA and children
  left in Mexico with relatives).
• Young people tend to migrate, leaving the old and
  very young.
• Rural areas in Mexico have a shortage of
  economically active people (lack of key workers
  eg doctors, teachers etc).

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What do you think are the gains and loses for USA
as a result of the large numbers arriving to work
in USA?
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Effects of Migration on the USA (the host
country)

• Benefits (Positive)
• Mexican migrants benefit the US economy by
  working for low wages (they earn around half as
  much as an American would earn doing the same
  job), which results in cheaper prices for the
  American customer and more profit for American
  businesses.
• The migrants are willing to do the low quality
  jobs many Americans dont want to do.
• Mexican culture (eg food, language, music) has
  enriched many US towns.
• Costs (Negative/ Problems)
• Unskilled American workers find it harder to get
  jobs.
• Wages are kept low, which affects how much the
  American workers earn.
• Increased cultural and racial tension, especially
  in the towns.
• Illegal migration is seen as a drain on the
  American economy (costs of border patrols the
  illegal immigrants dont pay taxes but use the
  services).

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Internal migration

• NE Brazil to Sao Paulo

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Human Development index
North East
Sao Paulo
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Intro

• What is rural-urban migration?
• Rural-urban migration is the movement of people
• from the countryside to the city.
• This causes two things to happen
• 1. Urban growth - towns and cities are expanding,
  covering a greater area of land.
• 2. Urbanisation - an increasing proportion of
• people living in towns and cities. Mega cities -
  those with over 10 million people.

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Reasons

• We are going to look at why people have left the
  North-East and why they chose to go to Sao Paulo.
• We are also going to look at the positives and
  negatives to
  each community as
  a
  result of these
  migrations

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Pushes

• NE Brazil (e.g. State of Bahia) 80 of Brazils
  farmland is owned by 10 of farmers. The other
  90 struggle to make any money at all with small
  plots of poor land.
• Historically the large farms had slaves to do the
  labour. Once slavery was abolished the people had
  no education or skills to do anything else so
  continued as poorly paid farm labourers.
• However as Brazil has developed, machines have
  been bought to do most of the work on the big
  farms. This means there are less jobs in the
  countryside.

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Pushes

• As well as the mechanisation
  of
  farming, there are many
  other PUSH
  factors from
  NE Brazil, such
  as
• Lack of services e.g. schools,
  hospitals.
• Drought can make farming the land hard,
  especially as overgrazing with cattle has led to
  soil erosion in many areas.
• Malaria is a killer disease, especially with poor
  healthcare.
• Lack of job opportunities (agriculture is the
  only option for most people)
• Pressure on the land land is subdivided in
  large families leaving smaller and smaller plots
  of land.

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Pulls

• Attraction to the
  urban areas
• People are attracted to
  urban areas
  because they
  think that they will have
  
  greater
  opportunities there.
  For many,
  life is better but
  some end up in
  poverty.
• It has over two thirds of the
  nations
  wealth
• Most of Brazils industries are located here so
  there are a greater range of employment
  opportunities
• Higher wages than in the Northeast
• More and better quality services (school,
  hospitals, roads)
• Attraction of the bright lights of the city
  (e.g. Carnival in Rio)
• Perception of a better quality of life, better
  housing etc. (though this might not necessarily
  be the reality when they arrive in the favelas)

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Intervening obstacles

• There are no case study specific intervening
  obstacles.
• But could you come up with a reasonable list of
  things that might get in the way of people
  migrating?

The effect of the migration on a rural area

• What might be the advantages?
• The disadvantages?

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The rural environment

• Rural depopulation is usually when numbers of
  working age people migrate from the countryside
  to earn more money in the city.
• On the positive side
• Rural depopulation does reduce pressure on the
  land, improving the agricultural opportunities of
  those left behind.
• Migrants often send money back to their home
  villages from the city which may improve quality
  of life and investment back in rural areas.

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The rural environment

• Disadvantages
• But rural depopulation can mean that the old and
  the very young are left behind to try to cope
  with farming by themselves. This often leads to a
  downward spiral where things get worse and
  worse.
• Commercial agriculture (cash crops) may force
  people away from their land
• Loss of community spirit
• Villages have an ageing population as it is
  mainly young people that move away looking for
  new opportunities and start families in the city
• Mainly men who leave first leaving a gender
  imbalance
• The elderly and women left behind may have to
  work harder with no young men to do the work and
  support them

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For Urban areas

• What could be the advantages of immigration?
• And the disadvantages?

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The Urban environment

• Advantages
• Provides a constant supply of cheap labour for
  Brazils growing industries
• Once families get established in the city there
  quality of life often improves and many favelas
  have been made permanent and improved.

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The Urban environment

• Disadvantages
• Services cannot cope with rapid population
  increase overcrowded schools and hospitals
• Not enough housing available people forced to
  live in squatter settlements called favelas
  which (at first) do not have running water,
  sanitation, electricity, roads or refuse
  collections.
• There may not be jobs available for all migrants
  which has led many to turn to crime in the city

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Homework

• Using the HOMEWORK template provided in the HW
  folder/wiki, type up the notes you made in lesson
  time please do not use the another copy of the
  classwork one!!
• Remember 3 or 4 points well understood and
  remembered are much better than a long list that
  you cannot explain properly.
• So do not just wholesale lift from the PowerPoint
  you need to be discriminating!