Issues Related To Migration

Migration influences the social, political, economic life of the people of a country which has higher immigrants. In India, migration either domestic or international, has a major effect on country’s economy. International migration has become an important feature in globalized markets influencing the economic growth. The impact of the migration is complex for both the immigrants and the countries involved.

This paper includes the “push and pull” factors that can lead to migration of people. It also includes the social and economic impacts of migration on different communities in a country. Also, it includes various reasons that leads to domestic and international migration of people. There has been concern about international migration in different services for some years now, but recently the situation has become more acute for a number of reasons, mostly reflected in severe staff and skill shortages in the different systems of many countries. While industrialized countries, in addressing the problem of staff shortages, become “recipient” countries and actively recruit migrants abroad, the emigration of qualified workers in a number of “donor” countries may undermine the functioning of their activities.

INTRODUCTION:-

Migration basically means the movement of people from one place to another. Migration is generally categorized as internal known as “immigration” or it can be external “emigration”. Voluntary migration is when people choose to move for a new job or a better education and forced migration is when they feel they have no choice but to move because their life is threatened or in danger or it may be due to famine, war or persecution. There have been various issues that are linked to migration that have come to limelight through series of workshops, conferences, panels, film screenings, cultural and artistic activities like human right aspects, living conditions, migrant workers’ rights, human trafficking, etc. All these issues have a great impact on migrant people as well as the locals. Rachel Sabates-Wheeler and Ian MacAuslan- the two socialists, argue that it is in the interests of migrants and both host and source country governments to investigate and fully understand the implications of legal, physical and political access structures to social protection.

ISSUES RELATED TO MIGRATION:-

Policy debates about immigration generally focus on two broad themes: the impact of immigration upon the economy, and its soaial and cultural impact. The immigrants are seen taking the various resources, making it more difficult to unite the societies and undermining a sense of national identity. So, there is a need for these policy makers or the governing bodies to balance the economic need for migrants against the social problems they create.

1) Human Rights vs Migrants Rights:-

It is imperative to focus on the respect of human rights and right of access to justice. Migrants rights are also as important as human rights. There should be a legislation that should refer to the economic, social and cultural contribution of migrants and Diaspora.

2) Trafficking of Persons mainly Children:-

There have been many problems like difficult living conditions of “minor” migrant children between 9 and 18 years of age. In search of jobs in order to support their families, they often fall into the trap of adults who bring them in other countries and exploiting them mentally and sexually. There is an African Organization that is working with various organizations in ECOWAS region that aims at helping these children.

3) Forced Migration due to Physical Factors:-

Climatic changes, temperature, lack of water supply, droughts, floods, etc. are also a major reason for emigration. So, there is a need for respective countries to revisit this phenomenon. The emigration of these people often exposes them to the risks of being trafficked, slavery or prostitution of women.

4) Migration to Access Descent Living Conditions:-

Migration from rural areas to urban cities that can provide better living opportunities. There are many problems that are encountered like unemployment, hunger, disease and economic conditions that prevails in the rural areas. For this government has to take up some steps to help the people facing these hardships.

5) Diaspora to Local Development:-

It can play a number of important roles in helping development of the home company. The primary route is no doubt by remitting to the home country. In addition, however, technology transfer and encouragement to trade and capital flows can be important in some settings, with highly skilled migrants playing a more visible role.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF MIGRATION:-

The effects of migration on sending countries depend critically on the magnitudes, composition and nature of the migration streams, as well as upon the specific context from which migrants are drawn. The departure of migrants involves a decline in the supply of labour and usually implies a fall in output unless there is a large pool of unemployed or underutilized labour.

In the case of skilled emigration, productivity declines as well. Because of the departure of labour, changes in the composition of output are likely to occur depending on the sectoral employment of emigrants. Moreover, intra-household inequality may increase and family roles may also change as a result.

As emigration continues and more people leave the country, output continues to fall. On the other hand, however, continuing migration improves the information flow and thus reduces the information and transaction costs related to migration. This reduced cost of migration encourages family members to accompany initial migrants; households start

using migration as a livelihood strategy.

Furthermore, the possibility of migration might also encourage those left behind to start investing in skills required to leave the country and seek improved prospects abroad. At this stage, the home country’s economy starts adjusting to migration. This may take the form of increased labour force participation by certain groups of the

There are certain key aspects in relation to this:-

Unskilled Labour Supply Flows:-

Situations in which labour markets in the country of origin are tight, so that unemployment spells are brief and infrequent and underemployment rare. In such context, emigration of workers requires employers to raise wage offers to fill the resultant vacancies. The other one is in which the migrant workers are replaced at little or no wages to the employers where ‘surplus labour’ exists. Costs imposed on employers are minimal and overall output is hardly be affected. Much of the emigration of low skilled labour occurs from poorly performing economies. Surplus labour conditions can be expected to prevail in among high emigration countries.

Brain Drain:-

The process of brain drain is considered as one of the negative impacts of international migration. The trained officials like engineers, doctors, scientists and others who are the future of their country, contribute to innovation, technological advancement and development of a country, migrate to other countries for jobs and other facilities. They cause a negative impact from the perspective of home country’s development.

SOCIAL EFFECTS OF MIGRATION:-

Although the economic effects of migration have been extensively studied, the social

effects have received less attention. However, they are very important and often closely linked with the much more studied economic effects of migration. Migration may impact on social life in several ways and the impact will be different for different types of migration.

The social effects of migration consist of changes in family composition, in gender roles,

child outcomes in terms of labour, health and education, cultural effects and issues related to crime. Moreover migration may cause a shift in adolescents’ orientation, in the sense that children may consider migration as their ultimate goal and decide to pursue further education in order to increase their migration prospects. Apart from education, migration may impact on children’s health.

Migration may have an important impact on migrants’ household lives in terms of family

roles and gender roles within the family. In particular the selection of migrants within the

household (whether it is the father, the mother or older children who migrate) will have an impact on the family members who stay behind and their roles within the household after migration has started. Most importantly the role of women in the household and subsequently in the society may change. The women whose husbands migrate, the outcome of migration depend on existing cultural practices and the flexibility of gender roles and family organization. Further the people who leave their birth place and flee to other countries are deprived of their cultures, languages, traditions, and other social activities that are also considered as a part of one’s identity.

“As of now-a-days we are seeing in India, there have been many threats to the migrants from Assam who have settled in Bangalore are facing threats due to impending attack related to the communal violence in home state due to which students and workers flee back. The violence has spilled over to other states where Bodos and other ethnic tribal members from the impoverished north-east have migrated in search of jobs. Violence has also been reported in Hyderabad, western cities of Pune and Nashik affecting the migrants.”
MIGRATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES:-

India as a nation has seen high migration rate in recent years. In 90’s around 98 million people migrated from one place to another. Apart from women, migrating due to marriage, employment is the biggest factor for migration. The number of job seekers have increased by 45% over the previous decade. Nearly 14 million people migrated in search for jobs out of which 12 million was men. Migrants have created pressure on others who are in same job market.

Most people migrate because of a combination of push and pull factors. Lack of rural employment, fragmentation of land holdings and declining public investment in agriculture create a crisis for rural Indians. Urban areas and some rural areas with industrial development or high agricultural production offer better prospects for jobs or self-employment.

No of Migrants (in million)

1951-61

66

1961-71

68.2

1971-81

81

1981-91

80.9

1991-2001

98.3

The onset of mass immigration from India, Pakistan and the Caribbean in the late 1940s and the 1950s coincided with the dismantling of the British Empire, and the decline of Britain’s global status. Immigration became the focus for the debate about these broader shifts. The perception that immigrants were alien to the British way of life ensured that the relationship between immigrants and the British state was defined largely by hostility, racism and confrontation. Not only was immigration policy driven by the desire specifically to keep out non-whites, but the state also viewed non-white immigrants settled in Britain as undesirables. Immigrants were the problem, and that problem had to be policed. This led both to discrimination against blacks and Asians in every sphere of social life, including housing, education and employment, and to confrontations with the police, confrontations that came to an explosive climax in a series of major riots in Britain’s inner cities in the late 1970s and the early 1980s.

Nearly eight million immigrants entered the United States from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in the nation’s history, 3.7 million of them entered illegally. Since 1986 Congress has passed seven amnesties for illegal immigrants. In 1986 president Ronald Reagan signed immigration reform that gave amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants in the country. Hispanic immigrants were among the first victims of the late-2000s recession, but since the recession’s end in June 2009, immigrants posted a net gain of 656,000 jobs. Over 1 million immigrants were granted legal residence in 2011.