Migrants and Refugees: Safety & Economic Factors

• Migrants and refugees are people who leave their homes for various reasons, seeking a better life.

Safety Factors

• Safety concerns can drive migration due to dangers to individuals.
• Persecution and discrimination based on nationality, race, religion, political beliefs, or group membership can cause migration.
• People seek safer locations with more freedom, away from war or gang activity.
• In 2016, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, known as the Northern Triangle, was one of the most violent regions in the world.
• These countries have high crime rates by local and international gangs, often unpunished.
• An estimated 10% of the Northern Triangle's population has already left due to extreme violence, with more expected to flee.

Economic Factors

• Economic reasons are frequently cited for migration.
• People migrate from poorer to richer areas for higher wages and more jobs.
• People also move from rural to urban areas for more competitive opportunities.

Environmental Factors

• Migration due to environmental factors is increasingly involuntary.
• Environmental factors lead to displacement or forced movement due to social or environmental issues.
• Crop failure can cause food scarcity and a drop in agricultural jobs.
• People move to areas with better job opportunities and climate.
• Pollution of water, air, and soil in urban and rural areas creates health risks, pushing people to seek better lives.

Social Factors

• Social factors for migration stem from the desire to improve quality of life.
• Migrants seek better opportunities for themselves and their families.
• This includes better education, safer schools, and jobs with good salaries, benefits, and career prospects.
• U.S. graduate programs attract talented individuals for education.
• People also migrate for services like life-saving surgery and medical treatment unavailable at home.

Illegal Migration

• Illegal migration involves entering or staying in a country without legal permission, also called illegal or undocumented immigration.
• Examples of illegal migration:
  • Entering a country without immigration inspection.
  • Entering a country with an expired visa.
  • Entering a country fraudulently.
  • Crossing a border improperly.
  • Staying in a country after a visa expires.

Contemporary Causes of Migration

• Primary causes:
  • Economic factors like better employment and higher wages.
  • Environmental issues like climate change.
  • Climate change leads to droughts and floods.
  • Political persecution.
  • Armed conflict.
  • Family reunification.
  • Access to better education.
• People migrate to improve their quality of life by escaping hardship and seeking better prospects.

Key Points About Migration Causes

• Economic factors are often the most significant driver.
• People move to areas with higher paying jobs, better business opportunities, or to escape poverty.
• Climate change events like rising sea levels, droughts, and extreme weather force people to leave home and migrate to safer areas.
• Persecution, human rights abuses, and armed conflict lead to large-scale forced migration as people seek asylum.
• Family reunification is a major driver, where people move to join family members already in another country.

Specific Examples of Migration Causes

• Labor migration: Moving to a new country to work in a specific industry with high labor demand.
• Brain drain: Highly skilled professionals leaving their home country for better opportunities abroad.
• Refugee migration: People fleeing war or persecution and seeking asylum in another country.
• Internal migration: Movement within a country, often due to economic disparities between regions.
• Climate change migration: People displaced from their homes due to extreme weather events caused by climate change.

People leave their homes as migrants and refugees for safety and economic reasons, seeking better lives. Safety concerns, persecution, discrimination, war, and gang activity can cause migration. Economic factors such as higher wages and more job opportunities also drive migration.