Case study of

international
migration:

Mexico to USA
 Why?
e?
Wher

What? Who? ?
When
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 Background information
• There’s been a wave of international migration from Mexico to the
USA since the 1990’s (economic boom) – the USA now receives about
1 million Mexican migrants per year!
• At least 10% (over 10 million people) of Mexico’s population is now
living in the USA, at least half of which are illegally living there.
• 15% (1 in every 7) of Mexico’s ‘economically active’ (aged 18 -60) is
working in the USA.
• The border between Mexico and the USA is over 3,000km long!
• Mexican immigrants represent 1 in every 25 of the US workforce.
• Estimate: only 1 in every 7 illegal migrants are caught.
• The easy routes into the US (eg San Diego, El Paso) are now tightly
patrolled by border patrol. More dangerous routes are now taken
(across deserts and mountains), with several migrants losing their
life (due to dehydration or hypothermia)
• Many migrants pay human smugglers (aka ‘coyotes’) to get them
across the border (expensive!)

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 We are going to look at …
• Some ideas that we have already looked
at:
 Push factors (from Mexico)
 Pull factors (towards USA)
 Intervening obstacles
• And a couple of new thoughts
 The effects of migration on Mexico – good and
bad
 The effects of migration on USA – good and
bad
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Images of Tijuana, Mexico...

This town is
in on the
border – why
might they
want to
leave?

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There are many pushes – which do you think
are the 4 most important?
1. Lots of poverty (40% of populationn live below the
poverty line).
2.High unemployment & underemployment rate (of 28%).
3.Only a small range of jobs available.
4.Low wages (especially in rural areas).
5.Poor healthcare & medical facilities (only 1 doctor per
1800 people; infant mortality rate is 20 deaths per
thousand live births).
6.Poor education system (literacy rate is 92%, which means
that 8% of the population - just over 8 million people -
cannot read and write).
7.Scarce & polluted water resources in many areas.
8.Poor response to natural disasters (such as earthquakes
& hurricanes).
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San Diego, California USA
Why might Mexicans want to
go to the USA?

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 There are many pulls – which do you think
are the 4 most important?
1. Strong economy (GNP is over $40,000 per capita)
2. Less poverty (12% live below the poverty line)
3. Low unemployment/underemployment rate (5%)
4. Many low quality jobs available (eg gardener, maid,
dishwasher) which require no training or education.
5. Higher wages – a rural migrant can earn up to 10 x more
doing the same job in the US.
6. Excellent healthcare & medical facilities (1 doctor per
400 people; infant mortality rate is only 6 deaths per
thousand live births; life expectancy is 78 years) –
although healthcare costs are high!
7. Good education system (literacy rate is 99%.)
8. Clean, regular water supply piped to each house.
9. Quick and effective response to natural disasters.
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What do you
think might
be
intervening
obstacles?

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 There are many intervening obstacles –
which do you think are the 4 most likely to
put people off?
1. Difficulty gaining an entry visa & work permit (‘Green
Card’).
2. If entering illegally, difficulty getting across the border
(border walls and fences; border patrol guards; harsh
landscapes to cross eg deserts, mountains, rivers).
3. Long distance to travel.
4. Lack of transport (no car).
5. Cost of transport (expensive airfare or bus fare).
6. Language difficulties (Mexicans speak Spanish, not
English).
7. Homesickness – would miss family and friends back home
in Mexico.
8. Sick or elderly family members back home in Mexico
need looking after..
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What do you think are the
gains and loses for Mexico
as a result of the large
numbers leaving to work in
USA?
 Effects of migration on Mexico (the
‘donor’ country)
• Benefits (Positive):
• Immigrants send home $20 billion a year back to Mexico; many
migrants send home at least $100 each month.)
• This money can then support a better standard of living for those in
Mexico (better quality housing, healthcare & education).
• Less competition for jobs (less unemployment) & housing in Mexico.
• Costs (Negative/ Problems):
• Large scale depopulation of towns and villages (eg the town of
Tendeparacua: popn in 1985 was 6,000; now only 600).
• Many men emigrate, leaving a majority of women who have trouble
finding marriage partners.
• Migration can break up families (wife on own with children, or the
man & wife in USA and children left in Mexico with relatives).
• Young people tend to migrate, leaving the old and very young.
• Rural areas in Mexico have a shortage of economically active people
(lack of ‘key workers’ eg doctors, teachers etc).

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What do you think are the
gains and loses for USA as
a result of the large
numbers arriving to work in
USA?
Effects of Migration on the USA (the
‘host’ country)
• Benefits (Positive):
• Mexican migrants benefit the US economy by working for low wages
(they earn around half as much as an American would earn doing the
same job), which results in cheaper prices for the American
customer and more profit for American businesses.
• The migrants are willing to do the low quality jobs many American’s
don’t want to do.
• Mexican culture (eg food, language, music) has enriched many US
towns.
• Costs (Negative/ Problems):
• Unskilled American workers find it harder to get jobs.
• Wages are kept low, which affects how much the American workers
earn.
• Increased cultural and racial tension, especially in the towns.
• Illegal migration is seen as a drain on the American economy (costs
of border patrols; the illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes but use the
services).
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Internal migration

NE Brazil to Sao Paulo

 Human
Development index

North
East

Sao Paulo

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 Intro
• What is rural-urban migration?
• Rural-urban migration is the movement of people
• from the countryside to the city.
• This causes two things to happen:
• 1. Urban growth - towns and cities are expanding,
covering a greater area of land.
• 2. Urbanisation - an increasing proportion of
• people living in towns and cities. Mega cities -
those with over 10 million people.

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 Reasons
• We are going to look at why people have
left the North-East and why they chose to
go to Sao Paulo.
• We are also going to look at the positives
and negatives to
each community as
a result of these
migrations

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 Pushes
• NE Brazil (e.g. State of Bahia) 80% of Brazil’s
farmland is owned by 10% of farmers. The other
90% struggle to make any money at all with small
plots of poor land.
• Historically the large farms had slaves to do the
labour. Once slavery was abolished the people
had no education or skills to do anything else so
continued as poorly paid farm labourers.
• However as Brazil has developed, machines have
been bought to do most of the work on the big
farms. This means there are less jobs in the
countryside.
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 Pushes
• As well as the mechanisation
of farming, there are many
other PUSH factors from
NE Brazil, such as:
• Lack of services e.g. schools,
hospitals.
• Drought can make farming the land hard, especially as
overgrazing with cattle has led to soil erosion in many
areas.
• Malaria is a killer disease, especially with poor
healthcare.
• Lack of job opportunities (agriculture is the only option
for most people)
• Pressure on the land – land is subdivided in large families
leaving smaller and smaller plots of land.
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 Pulls
• Attraction to the
urban areas
• People are attracted to
urban areas because they
think that they will have
greater opportunities there.
For many, life is better but
some end up in poverty.
• It has over two thirds of the
nation’s wealth
• Most of Brazil’s industries are located here so there are a
greater range of employment opportunities
• Higher wages than in the Northeast
• More and better quality services (school, hospitals, roads)
• Attraction of the ‘bright lights’ of the city (e.g. Carnival in Rio)
• Perception of a better quality of life, better housing etc.
(though this might not necessarily be the reality when they
arrive in the favelas)

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 Intervening obstacles
• There are no case study specific
intervening obstacles.
• But could you come up with a reasonable
list of things that might get in the way of
people migrating?
The effect of the migration on a
rural area
• What might be the advantages?
• The disadvantages?
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 The rural environment
• Rural depopulation is usually when numbers of
working age people migrate from the
countryside to earn more money in the city.
• On the positive side:
• Rural depopulation does reduce pressure on
the land, improving the agricultural
opportunities of those left behind.
• Migrants often send money back to their
home villages from the city which may
improve quality of life and investment back in
rural areas.
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 The rural environment
• Disadvantages
• But rural depopulation can mean that the old and the
very young are left behind to try to cope with farming
by themselves. This often leads to a “downward spiral”
where things get worse and worse.
• Commercial agriculture (cash crops) may force people
away from their land
• Loss of community spirit
• Villages have an ageing population as it is mainly young
people that move away looking for new opportunities and
start families in the city
• Mainly men who leave first leaving a gender imbalance
• The elderly and women left behind may have to work
harder with no young men to do the work and support
them
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 For Urban areas

What could be the

advantages of immigration?
And the disadvantages?
 The Urban environment
• Advantages
• Provides a constant supply of cheap labour
for Brazil’s growing industries
• Once families get established in the city
there quality of life often improves and
many favelas have been made permanent and
improved.

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 The Urban environment
• Disadvantages
• Services cannot cope with rapid population
increase – overcrowded schools and hospitals
• Not enough housing available – people forced to
live in squatter settlements called ‘favelas’
which (at first) do not have running water,
sanitation, electricity, roads or refuse
collections.
• There may not be jobs available for all
migrants which has led many to turn to crime in
the city
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 Homework
• Using the HOMEWORK template provided
in the HW folder/wiki, type up the notes
you made in lesson time – please do not use
the another copy of the classwork one!!
• Remember 3 or 4 points well understood
and remembered are much better than a
long list that you cannot explain properly.
• So do not just wholesale lift from the
PowerPoint – you need to be discriminating!
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