Schaefer c4

Immigration: A Global Phenomenon
• Can be a result of Push and Pull factors
• Chain Migration
– An immigrant who sponsors other immigrants
who upon their arrival may sponsor still more
– Potent factor contributing to immigration
globally
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Patterns of Immigration to the
United States
• Three unmistakable patterns
– Immigrantion has fluctuated dramatically over
time due to government policy changes
– Settlement has not been uniform across the
country; centered in certain regions and cities
– The source of immigrants has changed over
time

Today’s Foreign-Born Population
• About 12-13% are foreign born
• Six states account for two-thirds of total
foreign born population
• Approximately 38.5 million foreign born
people are from Latin America
• Europeans account for less than 1 in 7 of
the foreign born today

Early Immigration
• 35% of all immigrants to US eventually
emigrated back to their home country
• Not all new arrivals were welcome
– Xenophobia
– Nativism
• Beliefs and policies favoring native-born citizens
over immigrants

The Anti-Chinese Movement
• Lured by discovery of gold and opening of
job opportunities in the West
– Railroad provided the greatest demand
• Sinophobes
– People with a fear of anything associated with
China
– Threat they posed as laborers

The Anti-Chinese Movement
• Conflict Theory
– Chinese were welcomed only when their labor
was necessary
– Restrictions were not applied evenly
• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
– Denied naturalization rights to Chinese in US
– Decline in legal immigration

Restrictionist Sentiment Increases
• The extension of restrictions from the anti-
Asian movement to European nationalities
• 1908 – The Gentleman’s Agreement was
signed
– Prodded by anti-Japanese feelings
– Japan halted further immigration to US & US
agreed end discrimination of Japanese in US

Restrictionist Sentiment Increases
• Two types of immigrants: old and new
• New immigrants were seen as a threat to
democracy and the American way of life
• 1917 Congressional Bill on immigration
– Included controversial literacy test
– Prohibited immigration from South Sea
Islands & other parts of Asia not excluded

The National Origin System
• Established quotas based on percent of
each ethnic group from the 1910 census
– Drawn to block growing immigration from
Southern Europe, such as Greece and Italy
• The National Origin System
– Quotas went unfilled and immigration dropped
– Backlog in other countries

Immigration and Naturalization
Act of 1965
• Primary goals were to reunite families and
protect American labor market
– Also initiated restrictions on immigration from
Latin America
• Naturalization
– The conferring of citizenship on a person after
birth

Act of 1965
• Rules for naturalization
– 18 years of age; Continuous resident for 5
years (3 years for spouses of citizens)
– Good moral character (absence of criminal
offenses)
– Ability to read and write ordinary English
– Pass a test in U.S. government and history

Act of 1965
• Legally admitted for the following reasons:
– Citizen Family unification
– Spouses of legal residents
– Employment based
– Refugees/political asylum seekers
– Diversity
– Other

Contemporary Social Concerns
• Brain Drain
– Skilled workers, professionals, & technicians
desperately needed by their home countries
• H-1B Visas
– Permanent work permits to highly skilled
immigrants resulting in an:
• Economic & social cost to the developing nations

• Conflict Theory
– Views brain drain as another symptom of the
unequal distribution of world resources
– US does not need to take the steps necessary
• To encourage native members of subordinate
groups to enter desirable fields of employment

• Population Growth
– US is continues to accept large numbers of
permanent immigrants
• Nation’s birth rate has decreased so consequently,
contribution of immigration is more significant
– Immigration accounts for about 50% of
nation’s growth

– To some, US is overpopulated
• Sierra Club took position restricting immigration
– Recognizing more people puts greater strain on nation’s
natural resources
– Patterns of uneven settlement in US expected
to increase
• Mixed-Status Families

Language Barriers
• Bilingualism:
– Use of 2+ languages in work or education and
the treatment of each language as legitimate
• Bilingual education:
– Program designed to allow students to learn
academic concepts in their native language
• While they learn a second language

Illegal Immigration
• Control of illegal or undocumented
immigrants bitterly debated
• Exact number of undocumented or
unauthorized workers subject to estimates
• Illegal and legal immigrants tied by public
to almost every social problem in a nation
– Unemployment, “drug runners” & “terrorists”

Illegal Immigration
• Cost of policing borders and locating
illegal immigrants is sizable
• Immigration and Reform Act of 1986
(IRCA)
– Historic change in immigration policy
– Amnesty granted to 1.7 million illegal
immigrants; document long term residency

Illegal Immigration
• Conflict Theory
– Immigrants, primarily poor and Hispanic or
Asian
• Are being lodged at the bottom of the nation’s
social and economic hierarchies

Illegal Immigration
• Functionalist Theory
– Employers, by paying low wages, are able to
produce goods and services
• That are profitable for industry and affordable to
consumers
– Despite poor working conditions often
experienced by illegal immigrants:

Illegal Immigration
• They continue to come because it is in their best
economic interest
• Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996
– Emphasized more effort to keep immigrants
from entering the country illegally
• No access to social security and welfare

Path to Citizenship
• Naturalization:
– Citizenship is conferred on a person after birth
– This is a process outlined by Congress and
extends to foreigners the same benefits:
• Given to native-born United States citizens

Economic Impact of Immigration
• Much public and scholarly debate
• Most significant factor is whether a study
examines national impact of immigration
– Or only its effect on a local area
• Many hold stereotypical belief that
immigrants end up on welfare
– And cause increase in taxes

• Remittances (Migradollars)
– Money that immigrants return to their country
– Widely recognized as critical to the survival to
millions of households worldwide
– States have sought legal redress because
federal government has not seriously
• Considered granting aid to heavily burdened states

• Paradoxical situation
– Strong economy and concerns about
immigration
– Suggests other concerns
• Ethnic & racial tension more important in
explaining current attitudes toward immigration

Women and Immigration
• Men dominate much of labor migration
worldwide
• Diversified labor force in US and policies
that facilitate relatives coming
– US immigration has been fairly balanced
• Second-class status of women in society
is reflected in immigration

– 1907-1922
• Women who married immigrants who were not
citizens lost their citizenship –not applied to men
• Immigrant women face additional
challenges
– Responsibility of navigating the new society
when it comes to services for their family

– Males are more consumed with work leaving
adult women to navigate bureaucracies
• City services, schools, medical facilities, stores,
and markets
– Less likely to seek outside help for medical
care or issues of domestic violence
– More likely to be the liaison for the household

The Global Economy and
Immigration
• Globalization
– The worldwide integration of government
policies, cultures, social movements
• And financial markets through trade, movement of
people, and exchange of ideas

The Global Economy and
Immigration
• Transnationals
– Immigrants who sustain multiple social
relationships
– Linking their societies of origin and settlement

The Environment and Immigration
• The public expressed growing concern on
a variety of environmental issues
– From water quality to global warming
• Environmental factors are behind a
significant amount of world migration
• Up to 200 million people may move due to
environmental factors from 2005 & 2050

Refugees
• People living outside their country for fear
of political or religious persecution
• Enough exist to populate an entire nation
• US makes the largest contribution of any
nation to worldwide assistance programs
– Resettles 70,000 refugees annually

Refugees
• US government is officially committed to
accepting refugees from other nations
• 1968 United Nations treaty on refugees
– Countries obliged to refrain from forcibly
returning people to territories
• Where their lives or liberty might be endangered

Refugees
• Asylees
– Foreigners who have already entered the US
and now seek protection because of
• Persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution
• Based on race, religion, nationality, social group,
or political opinion

Schaefer c4

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Schaefer c4