immigration in central america

• Is Migration a Problem?

• Push and Pull Theory • Examples: Violence and Economic Opportunity

• Types of Migrants

• Obama’s ”Comprehensive Policy”

• Photos from collection ”Crossings”

• Is Migration a Problem?

Content of Presentation

Is Migration a Problem?

No:Economic opportunities, improved education, security, broadening of the middle class, cultural exchange and global learning.

Yes:Broken families, exploitation of workers, braindrain, youth drain, cultural disintegration and useless cnsumerism.

Push and pull factors are those factors which either forcefully push people into migration or attract them.

Push factor:A flaw or distress that drives a person away from a certain place.

Pull factor:A benefit that attracts people to a certain place.

Push and Pull Theory

Job opportunitiesBetter living conditionsPolitical/religious freedomEnjoymentEducation

Better medical careSecurityFamily linksIndustryBetter chances of finding courtship

Pull Factors

What might or might not be found in the US?

Pull Factors

Taxi driver Edwin Rodriguez worked illegally in the US for 5 years and then returned and started his own business with the money he had saved.

Not enough jobsFew opportunities"Primitive" conditionsDesertificationFamine/droughtPolitical fear/persecutionPoor medical careWar

Loss of wealthNatural DisastersDeath threatsSlaveryPollutionPoor housingLandlordsPoor chances of courtship

Push Factors

What might be “pushing” especially in El Salvador?

Push Factor: Violence (security)

Political fear/persecution:Over 50 political candidates assissinated in campaign periodo for 2007 elections in Guatemala.

Extortions: The National Civil Police of El Salvador reported the following cases of extortion in:

2003: 289 cases2004: 314 cases 2005: 493 cases2006: 2145 cases

= 335% increase.

Country Murders in 2005

X 100,000 people

El Salvador 3,761 56

Honduras 2,836 41

Guatemala 5,500 38

Nicaragua 9

Costa Rica 6

Push Factor: Violence (security)

Narco-trafficking and youth gangs: 70,000 to 300,000 young people estimated to be in gangs in Central America.

A mother cries at the sight of her son lying dead in the Mexican town of Tenosique. The man was stabbed to death during an argument in the middle of the street.

“People migrate because they want to make money.”

No, it’s not that simple in the contradictory societies ofCentral America:

Contradiction 1:

Lack of jobs is Call centers andconsidered one of BUT… sugar canemain problems harvest withoutin region. sufficient labor.

Pull Factor: Economic Opportunity

Rosa Mejía is pregnant with her first child. Her husband has migrated from Nicaragua to Costa Rica to find a job and support the child and Rosa.


Contradiction 2:

Family members Increaing numbers of in the US sends home people migrate, money to improve BUT especially people who living conditions. already have family members in the US.


Contradiction 3:

Business sector More universitycomplains of lack of BUT… graduates thanadequate training ever before. of labor.


Types of migrants

Sports people, academics, musicians,

politicians, business people, retired people

Legal

:

Temporary workersTourists (CA4),

Semi-legal

Undocumented workers,tourists working,

deporteesIllegal

Goods and people cross the border illegally, in both directions. Transporting cans of cheap Mexican gas to Guatemala, these porters avoid an export ban. The price difference earns them six dollars a trip.

Obama’s “comprehensive policy” on immigration

Campaign video

Obama’s suggestions• Create Secure BordersAdditional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.

• Improve Our Immigration System Improve the immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.

• Remove Incentives to Enter IllegallyRemove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

Obama’s suggestions

• Bring People Out of the ShadowsSupport a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.

• Work with Mexico Do more to promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.

“Crossings: photographs from the US-Mexican border”Photos by Alex Webb

Guatemalan border towns such as El Carmen are booming as they service the growing stream of migrants - offering meals, Mexican currency, cheap hotels, and three-wheeled-taxi rides to the frontier.

Riding “the beast,” exhausted men cling to tanker cars during a jerky, seven-hour trip to Palenque, Mexico.If they fall asleep, they can tumble off.

Honduran men wash the few clothes they have left after being robbed by a gang outside Tenosique, Mexico, where they were waiting to catch a train. Staying clean allows migrants to blend in and hide from immigration agents.

José Mauricio left El Salvador with the dream of a better life - only to lose a leg to the train. Now he makes bracelets that sell for 90 cents apiece, while waiting for an artificial limb.

A train loaded with migrants moves through Gregorio Méndez, where residents sometimes toss travelers bottles of water. The migrants need all the help they can get.

Over one million illegal emigrants cross the US-Mexican border anually. It’s the US on the left side and Mexico is on the right side.

There are 11,000 U.S. Border Patrol officers along the US-Mexican border.

At times army personnel have been called upon to stop crossings and drug smugglers.

A group of arrested emigrants walk to a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle in Nogales, Arizona.

The US-Mexican border is so vast that complete border control coverage is nearly impossible.

Is Migration a Problem?

“The money that are sent back do not solve theproblem of poverty or the need for real development.

The money does not make Guatemala a richercountry, because it is only a temporary solution to astructural problem.”

Manuel Orozco, Nicaraguan expert on immigration