The Multi-Faceted Debate on Human Migration

Abstract

Since the beginning of human history people have moved. They have left ancestral homelands, entered new spaces, explored new frontiers and returned to former abodes. Ours is a history of emigrating and immigrating, of crossing borders (territorial, social and political), of trying to establish ourselves in new domains, or of arguing for our right to be where we are. The contemporary concern about immigration is thus a manifestation of an age-old and chronic problem that is not unique to the 21 st century or to the United States. 1 Yet the present debate over human movement appears to have intensified as a result of the relentless advance of globalization and the rise in "illegal" or "undocumented" workers. 2 Questions concerning States' responsibilities toward migrant workers-especially marginalized and undocumented workers who typically experience labor and human rights abuses-have become especially prominent.This article explores the question of human movement from multiple perspectives-theory, foreign policy and international doctrine-in order to contextualize the current immigration debate in the United States. It explains how migration challenges human-State relations, influences political discourse and foreign policy directives, and presents many migrantsparticularly the undocumented-with very real human security dilemmas. It ends by demonstrating the discord between political practice and international human rights rhetoric with regard to freedom of movement, and alludes to the fact that the debate on human movement is far from over. Theoretical OverviewIn order to address the question of human movement (migration), a brief overview of several key theories that explain migratory movements is instructive. Generally, it has been assumed that "if you build it, they will come;" that is, migration responds to the push-pull factors of economic development, and like water pooling at the lowest level, immigrants are drawn to countries and regions of growth and opportunity, seeking out employment and better life prospects. In other words, the majority of foreign migrants are economic immigrants and/or economic refugees. 3 Thus a central question for any theory of migration to address is why migrants leave their homes in the first place. To what extent do economic development and growth, and conversely economic hardship and breakdown, in regions or countries stimulate migration C

Shifting Trends in Central American Migration:A Demographic Examination of Increasing Honduran-U.S. Immigration and Deportation

“…The recency of the growth in Honduras’ immigrant population—occurring primarily in the 1990s and 2000s, as opposed to the 1970s and 1980s—coincides with a dramatic shift in migration policy and enforcement efforts in the United States. Public debate surrounding immigration policy particularly after 2000 restricted channels to legal immigrant status, favored enforcement in the name of national security, and made policy reform a key issue in the 2008 presidential elections (Belton and Morales 2009). Border Patrol appropriations increased from less than $1 billion in 1990 to more than $3 billion in 2010 (Haddal, Kim, and Garcia 2010; Reyes, Johnson, and Swearingen 2002).…”