Custer's Last Stan

Although human migration has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, immigration in the modern sense refers to movement of people from one nation-state to another, where they are not citizens. Immigration implies long-term permanent residence by the immigrants: tourists and short-term visitors are not considered immigrants. However, seasonal labour migration (typically for periods of less than a year) is often treated as a form of immigration. The global volume of immigration is high in absolute terms, but low in relative terms. The UN estimated 190 million international migrants in 2005, about 3% of global population. The other 97% still live in the state in which they were born, or its successor state.

The modern idea of immigration is related to the development, especially in the 19th century, of nation-states with clear citizenship criteria, passports, permanent border controls, and nationality law. Citizenship of a nation-state confers an inalienable right of residence in that state, but residence of immigrants is subject to conditions set by immigration law. The nation-state made immigration a political issue: by definition it is the homeland of a nation defined by shared ethnicity and/or culture, and in most cases immigrants have a different ethnicity and culture. This has led to social tensions, xenophobia, and conflicts about national identity, in many developed countries.

Contents [hide]

1 Global migration statistics

2 Causes of migration

2.1 Barriers to migration

3 Differing perspectives on immigration

4 Ethics of migration

5 References

6 External links

[edit] Global migration statistics

Migration statistics refer to people who have themselves moved from one country to another, i.e. 'first-generation' immigrants. In non-official usage, terms such as 'immigrant' or 'foreigner' are often used for ethnic minorities of immigrant descent, regardless of their place of birth or citizenship.

According to the Report of the Secretary-General on International migration and development, most international migrants are in the high-income developed countries, 91 million in 2005. [1] Low and lower-middle income countries have 51 million international migrants. Migration flows are not solely from poor to rich countries, however: about a third of international migrants move from one developing country to another. The absolute number of international migrants is highest in the United States, 39 million. The highest percentages of migrants in the labour force are found in the Gulf States, 90 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 86 percent in Qatar, 82 percent in Kuwait, 64 percent in Oman. In Europe, only Luxembourg approaches this level, with 45 percent of the labour force foreign.

The European Union allows labour migration between member states (with restrictions on new member states), but inter-EU migration is relatively low. According to Eurostat, Luxembourg, seat of many European institutions, has the highest percentage of non-nationals (39%). Non-national does not always correspond to 'immigrant': Latvia (22% non-national) and Estonia (20%) have large non-citizen minorities of ex-Soviet citizens. Including these minorities, 5.5% of the total population of the EU was non-national. [2]

[edit] Causes of migration

Theories of migration traditionally distinguish between push factors and pull factors. [3] Push factors refer primarily to the motive for emigration from the country of origin. In the case of economic migration (usually labour migration), differentials in wage rates are prominent. Poor individuals from less developed countries can have far higher standards of living in developed countries than in their originating countries. Escape from poverty is a traditional push factor, the availability of jobs is the related pull factor. The migrants may wish to send remittances to their family. Natural disasters can amplify poverty-driven migration flows. This kind of migration may be illegal immigration in the destination country (emigration is also illegal in some countries, such as North Korea).

Emigration and immigration are sometimes mandatory in a contract of employment: religious missionaries, and employees of multinational corporations, international non-governmental organisations and the diplomatic service can expect to work 'overseas'. They are often referred to as 'expatriates', and their conditions of employment are typically equal to or better than those applying in the host country (for similar work).

For some migrants, education is the primary pull factor (note that students on limited visas are often not defined as immigrants). Retirement migration from rich countries to lower-cost countries with better climate, is a new type of international migration. An example is immigration of retired British citizens to Spain. Some immigrants justify their drive to be in a different country for cultural or health related reasons, while young people from developed countries choose to migrate as a form of self expression towards the establishment or to satisfy their need to perceive directly other cultural environments.

Non-economic push factors include persecution (religious and otherwise), frequent abuse, bullying, oppression, ethnic cleansing and even genocide, and risks to civilians during war. Political motives traditionally motivate refugee flows - to escape dictatorship for instance.

Some migration is for personal reasons, based on a relationship (e.g. to be with family or a loved one). In a few cases, an individual may wish to emigrate to a new country, in a form of transferred patriotism. Evasion of criminal justice (e.g. avoiding arrest) is a (mostly negative) personal motivation. This type of emigration and immigration is not normally legal, if a crime is internationally recognized, although criminals may diguise their identities or find other loopholes to evade detection.

[edit] Barriers to migration

Barriers to immigration come not only in legal form; natural barriers to immigration can also be very powerful. Immigrants when leaving their country also leave everything familiar: their family, friends, support network, and culture. They also need to liquidate their assets often at a large cost, and incur the expense of moving. When they arrive in a