How to Solve Migration Issues? In North and South America?

[Dorian]

My teacher only asked me to look for solutions to the Migration Issues in North and South America, I don't know what specific issues she referred to... So, please hang with me here! What are the most important or known current migration problems in both North and South America? And what can we do to solve them? Please give me a link to your source! I need to have a bibliography pointing towards where I got my information from.

[Chris]

Most migration is triggered by economic circumstances rather than by political, war or health issues. Basic facts here:

"There was a notable increase in the emigration of Latin Americans to the United States in the mid-1960s. The US population censuses show that people born in Latin American and Caribbean countries increased from 1 million in 1960 to more than 13 million in 1997. A significant number of illegal immigrants must also be taken into consideration when computing these figures. Moreover beginning in the 1970s, migration flows diversified as Latin Americans headed for various [other] countries in the developed world...."

Source: International Labour Organisation, Geneva, International Migration Paper No.58, Adela Pellegrino, Geneva, 2002.

Problems that arise: The "brain drain" from the source countries, the unbalancing of their population structure, consequent depletion of their tax revenues and thus a worsened ability to develop their own infrastructure. This despite the source countries having invested in the education of the people leaving.

Depression of wage rates in the recipient countries; "illegals" working tax-free ("black market" in - especially - unskilled labor) and without accrual of social security entitlement; housing shortages etc. Increased unemployment in the recipient countries.

Potential remedies: That depends upon whose interests you want to serve - those of the migrant workers, the economy of the country they aspire to reach, or the capitalist businesses that seek to exploit the cheapest source of labor.

Plenty more for you on the http://www.ilo.org website; it is a specialist agency of the United Nations.