Essay Sample on History of International Migration: 175M People Searching for Greener Pastures

Introduction

International migration is the movement of people from one religion to another to upgrade their lives. In the earliest form, man is known to move from regions to the region either due to the scarcity of food or in search for greener pastures (Mitchell, 2014). Today, international migration is prevalent because most people still move from developing to developed countries. In 2002, research revealed that 175 million migrated from their countries to developed countries such as North America, Asia, and Europe (Mitchell, 2014). Migration has also become an essential concept in globalization. This means that since people keep on moving, they also go with their norms and cultures to host the new communities.

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International migration has several positive impacts. Research done in the U.S has revealed that when people move from one area to another, they reduce the levels of poverty, and this has improved the development indicators (Icduygu, 2006). The remittance, in this case, becomes beneficial to the source countries by increasing child enrolment and retention in school to ensure that their health status is improved (Icduygu, 2006). Consignment also has positive impacts when acquiring physical capital. In other words, people that received payment were forced to spend their money to buy a landed property or starting up small scale businesses.

For many years, migration is known to have consequences both for the country of destination and the source country to the point that it has become essential for policy making, development, and growth. It is vital for the migrant labor to assist meet the shortage of work, especially to the countries that are experiencing economic challenges (Icduygu, 2006). Even though the migrant labor may facilitate labor markets for natives, they also balance the needs of the immigrants. The labor immigrant, in this case, makes people understand the impact of migration not only for political but also economical.

Recent research has shown that even though international migration has slowed down, people are still moving to developed countries. However, in developed countries, immigration has brought social transformations, cultural, and political issues. Studies stated that international movement has no negative effect, but the reality has proved that it is a threat for the developed countries (Icduygu, 2006). The 21st century is a good time that shows why international migration has become a norm to the extent that countries develop political and social issues.

International migration, in this case, is good because it allows people to have better lives as compared to those that are still living in developing countries. Based on a data released, it has shown that most people that plan to migrate either go to the U.S or Europe. The information also showed that 61% of migrants live in France, Australia, Germany, and American (Icduygu, 2006). Developed countries, on the other hand, have also taken advantage of the immigrants because of cheap labor. However, developed countries are facing challenges while employing the immigrants because of lack of skills. Most of them end up getting low salaries, and this creates competition with the residents.

Drawing from this statement, it is a fact that migration is vital to the political and social area. Even though international migration has positive effects, the international community should embrace policies that will control movement. In Europe, for instance, Anti-immigrants had issues due to the presence of the refugees. Even though turkey allows the Syrian refugees, they were given jobs then moved to Sweden. However, not all countries legalized their living status due to citizen exploitation under powerless foreign people.

The Economic Impact of Migration on Source Countries

The most important facts about immigration are the generation of household income. Icduygu (2006), showed that remittance had become one of the most significant sources of money for developing countries because foreign cash is sent directly to them with the people living abroad. Another research has also shown that remittance helps in increasing the country's GDP in nations like Jamaica, Cape Verde, Yemen, Bosnia, and Jordan (Icduygu, 2006). In Egypt, for instance, payment is higher than the foreign exchange earnings collected from tourism and the Suez Canal (Icduygu, 2006). In Morocco, on the other hand, consignment increased by five percent.

As a result, the developing countries have advanced their education systems, thus making the citizens travel to other countries for employment. Several types of research have also shown that remittance has a significant impact when it comes to education. For instance, in El-Salvador, 14% of the urban and rural households get money from friends and families that live abroad (Icduygu, 2006). In Mexico, 7.8% receive payment from family members that resided in the U.S, and this helps them attend international schools as well (Icduygu, 2006).

Migration on Host Communities

For years debate on whether movement affects the community positively has always been discussed. As known, many people feared to interact with strangers because of their different norms and cultures, especially when economic downturns are mentioned. In host nations, for examples, citizens always complain because of the high unemployment rate due to the influx of migrant that came from developed countries due to tighter immigration controls.

International migration tends to have some negatives effects. Most family members are usually left behind because it becomes expensive to move with everyone, and the policies of immigration also have unfavorable conditions (Mcghee, 2016). Even though the families abroad send money at home, their family remain disrupted because of the adverse effects of deportation, in other words; migration increases both the happiness and income levels of those who are abroad but becomes devastating when the family's members are left behind.

Conclusion

It is evident that there are many consequences caused by international immigration. Families that are left behind usually come from developed countries. This paper has filled the knowledge gap by showing how immigration affects various countries. The article has also distinguished between cognitive and hedonic dimensions caused by international migrations. The positive effect includes happiness, useful lives, good jobs, and more money for people that travel abroad. Even though the paper pointed out the positive impact of international migration, adverse effects were also detected. By contrast, it is seen that developed countries are facing challenges while employing the immigrants because of lack of skills. However, even though the migrant labor may facilitate labor markets for natives, they also balance the needs of the immigrants. For instance, in El-Salvador, 14% of the urban and rural households get money from friends and families that live abroad.

References

Harari, Y. N. (2019). The Rise of Anti-Immigration Sentiment and Undocumented Immigration as Explanations for Immigration Policy. Trading Barriers. doi:10.23943/princeton/9780691174488.003.0007

Icduygu, A., (2006). Migration, Remittances, and their Impact on Economic Development. The Development Dimension Migration, Remittances, and Development, 89-95. doi:10.1787/9789264013896-7-en

Mcghee, D., (2016). Getting 'Host' Communities on Board: Finding the Balance Between 'Managed Migration' and 'Managed Settlement' in Community Cohesion Strategies. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 32(1), 111-127. doi:10.1080/13691830500335341

Mitchell, C., (2014). International Migration, International Relations, and Foreign Policy. International Migration Review, 23(3), 681-708. doi:10.1177/019791838902300315