Immigration facts for kids
Immigration means people moving from their native regions into another country to live. People who immigrate are called immigrants. Some are illegal immigrants. Some immigrants are refugees and some ask for political asylum.
If someone were to immigrate to the United States, they would have to apply to become a legal citizen. If the person is accepted, they will receive a green card. A green card is a piece of evidence stating that the person is trying to legally stay within the country's borders. The person must keep the green card for at least five years in order to become a citizen of the United States of America. (USA-GOV pg. 1)
Immigrant and emigrant both describe human migration. The same people are emigrants when they leave their own country or region, and immigrants when they arrive somewhere else.
Immigrants have been linked to greater invention and innovation. According to one report, "immigrants have started more than half (44 of 87) of America's startup companies valued at $1 billion dollars or more and are key members of management or product development teams in over 70 percent (62 of 87) of these companies." One analysis found that immigrant-owned firms had a higher innovation rate (on most measures of innovation) than firms owned by U.S.-born entrepreneurs.
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History
The term immigration was coined in the 17th century, referring to non-warlike population movements between the emerging nation states. When people cross national borders during their migration, they are called migrants or immigrants (from Latin: migrare, 'wanderer') from the perspective of the destination country. In contrast, from the perspective of the country from which they leave, they are called emigrants or outmigrants.
The phrases "many people emigrated from Europe in the 19th century AD to America" and "many people immigrated to America from Europe in the 19th century" have the same meaning.
Reasons for immigration
As with other changes, people go to another place for several reasons:
- a lack of local access to resources
- a desire for economic prosperity
- to find or engage in paid work
- to better their standard of living
- family reunification
- retirement
- climate or environmentally induced migration
- exile
- escape from prejudice, conflict or natural disaster
- to change one's quality of life.
One theory of immigration distinguishes between push and pull factors, referring to the economic, political, and social influences by which people migrate from or to specific countries.
Push factors (or determinant factors) refer primarily to the motive for leaving one's country of origin (either voluntarily or involuntarily), whereas pull factors (or attraction factors) refer to one's motivations behind or the encouragement towards immigrating to a particular country.
In the case of economic migration (usually labor migration), differentials in wage rates are common. If the value of wages in the new country surpasses the value of wages in one's native country, he or she may choose to migrate, as long as the costs are not too high. Particularly in the 19th century, economic expansion of the US increased immigrant flow, and nearly 15% of the population was foreign-born, thus making up a significant amount of the labor force. Escape from poverty (personal or for relatives staying behind) is a traditional push factor, and the availability of jobs is the related pull factor.
Non-economic push factors include persecution (religious and otherwise), frequent abuse, bullying, oppression, ethnic cleansing, genocide, risks to civilians during war, and social marginalization. Political motives traditionally motivate refugee flows; for instance, people may emigrate in order to escape a dictatorship.
Difficulty of immigration
Immigration has always been difficult. When people immigrate, they leave behind their friends, families, and culture. They also have to sell what they have, like a house, farm, or anything else too big to bring. Immigrating is also difficult because of the strict Immigration laws and qualifications within each country. It is hard to become a legal citizen of a country. It takes time (about 5 years in the US) and a lot of patience to become legally a part of a country.
Learning different languages in order to feel comfortable in a country is also extremely difficult for some people They might not have the opportunity to go a to school and learn certain things. Not knowing or beginning to learn the language of a country the person immigrates to can be very uncomfortable at first. This is because communication is needed within our everyday lives, such as at work, in grocery stores, restaurants, and just everyday life.
Travelling can also be very expensive. Many immigrants have to use all their money to pay fees or plane tickets.
Once immigrants arrive in the new countries, they can face many difficulties. They may have to get a job, find a house, and learn a new language. Immigrants can also be victims of racism.
Related pages
- Migrant worker
- Human migration
- Political asylum
- Deportation
- Diaspora
- Exile
- Refugee
- Vienna Declaration
Images for kids
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Immigration sign near the border between Mali and Mauritania; sponsored by EU
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The global population of immigrants has grown since 1990 but has remained constant at around 3% of the world's population.
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The largest Vietnamese market in Prague, also known as "Little Hanoi". In 2009, there were about 70,000 Vietnamese in the Czech Republic.
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The Iron Curtain in Europe was designed as a means of preventing emigration. "It is one of the ironies of post-war European history that, once the freedom to travel for Europeans living under communist regimes, which had long been demanded by the West, was finally granted in 1989/90, travel was very soon afterwards made much more difficult by the West itself, and new barriers were erected to replace the Iron Curtain." —Anita Böcker
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The Indo-Bangladeshi barrier in 2007. India is building a separation barrier along the 4,000 kilometer border with Bangladesh to prevent illegal immigration.
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UNHCR tents at a refugee camp following episodes of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa, 2008
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See also
In Spanish: Inmigración para niños
