Migration
READ: Miller Chapter 12
What are the major categories of migration?
- spatial categories:
- internal migrants (movement within country boundaries)  Push-pull theory: an explanation for rural-to urban migration that emphasizes people’s incentives to move because of a lack of opportunity in rural areas (the “push”) compared with urban areas (the “pull”)
- international migrants (movement across country boundaries)
- transnational migrants (regular movement of a person between two or more countries resulting in a new cultural identity)
- based on the reason for moving:
- labour migration
- role of remittances (the transfer of money or goods by migrant to his or her family in the country of origin)
- circular migration (repeated movement between two or more places, either within or between countries)
- differential citizenship
- displaced persons: for what reasons? (someone who is forced to leave his or her home and community or country, because of slavery, war, persecution, natural disasters, and large-scale mining)
e.g. refugees:
Article 1 of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the
1967 Protocol, defines a refugee as:
"A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."
- institutional migrants (someone who moves into a social institution (such as a school or prison) either voluntarily or involuntarily)
What is meant by “New Immigrants”? (an international migrant who has moved internationally since the
1960’s)
- new countries of origin and trends since 1960s such as:
- globalization (more countries are involved in international migration, leading to increased cultural diversity in both sending and receiving countries)
- acceleration of migration (growth in numbers of migrants has occurred worldwide
- feminization of migration (women are a growing percentage of international migrants to and from all regions and in all types of migration; some types exhibit a majority of women
- what are border crossings like now compared to 150 years ago?
How do anthropologists study migration and how do they contribute to policies and programs?

- e.g. issues related to health, labour policy, human rights. (better monitoring and an enhanced provision of services)
Bracero: an agricultural laborer who is permitted entry to a country to work for a limited time
Refugee: someone who is forced to leave his or her home, community or country
Internally displaced person (someone who is forced to leave his or her home and community but who remains in the same country
Development-induced displacement: the forced migration of a population due to the development projects, such as the construction of a dam
Chain migration: a form of population movement in which a first wave of migrants comes and then attracts relatives and friends to join them in the destination
Lifeboat mentality: a view that seeks to limit enlarging a particular group because of perceived constraints on resources
Right to return: the United Nations’ guaranteed right of a refugee to return to his or her home country to live