Question

How is Migration Today?

Answer 1

Migration patterns today reflect world economic trends. For example, during the past thirty years Chinese workers have moved from inland regions to coastal cities within China in search of jobs and new economic opportunities unavailable in rural areas.  Domestic Chinese migrants now account for approximately one-third of all domestic migrants worldwide, numbering almost 230 million people (The Economist 2012). These migratory trends have arisen largely in response to the surge of international capital investment and manufacturing business being funneled into China, a known hotspot for cheap land and labor.  Concurrently, Chinese emigration has steadily increased since the 1970s, oftentimes resulting in the departure of the wealthy and of skilled laborers seeking professional employment in North America and Europe. Of those Chinese considered “affluent,” an astonishing 74.9 percent surveyed would consider sending their children to school abroad. Chinese emigration also includes lower skill labor groups, who may utilize unauthorized means of migration (Song, 2013). 

Similarly, during the last several decades, labor migration from Latin America (particularly Mexico) to the U.S. has surged.  A sizeable portion of this growing migration stream has been undocumented, a fact often called upon by immigration opponents in their quest to limit immigration rates. The backlash against immigrants from Latin America in the U.S. has resulted in the fortification of the U.S.-Mexico border, including the construction of physical walls at popular entry points.  However, these efforts don’t appear to have seriously limited the number of immigrants arriving in the U.S. without authorization each year; in fact, undocumented immigrants now number close to 11 million U.S. residents (Andreas 2009).  Additionally, many individual states have recently passed legislation making it difficult for undocumented immigrants to receive social services and find work in the U.S, causing extensive backlash from immigrants and supporters.

I hope this helps! ^w^