Immigration: Root Causes. Migrations 214 million Estimated number of international migrants worldwide 1 The total number of international migrants has.

Immigration: Root Causes

Migrations

214 million

•Estimated number of international migrants worldwide1The total number of international migrants has increased over the last 10 years from an estimated 150 million in 20002 to 214 million3 persons today.

Root Causes

• List from map exercise

Why do people move?• Basic needs

faminepoverty

• Safetywar/violencepolitical persecution

• Opportunitieslack of economic and

educational opportunities

Freedom of expressionreligious persecution

Exploitation/environmentminingdeforestation

U.S. policiesNAFTA/subsidies --

cheap U.S. food drives Mexican farmers out of business

U.S. and Guatemala Political History

• Genocide • 200,000 people died. More than one million people were forced to flee

their homes and hundreds of villages were destroyed. The officially chartered Historical Clarification Commission attributed more than 93% of all documented violations of human rights to Guatemala's military government; and estimated that Maya Indians accounted for 83% of the victims.

- 1976 Earthquake – 25,000 dead

Cash Flow - Remittances

• Migrations and Cash Flow

FTA’s – NAFTA - CAFTA

Corn

• 1994 - NAFTA exposed corn grown by Mexican farmers to direct competition with American-grown corn

• NAFTA - Small-scale corn farmers, 72% of Mexico’s corn producers, experienced a staggering reduction in their profits

• 1994 corn prices dropped 25%.

• “migration grew…352 percent between 1980 and 2002”.

• CAFTA – Central American Free Trade Agreement – Aug 2005

CAFTA

• Walmart, DD, McDonalds, BK, Etc etc etc…

• Displacement of formal and informal economy

• Manufacturing jobs gone South

Mining

Displacement of people in the

communities and contamination of the environment

Mina San Miguel – Canadian Mining-

Gold Corp

?

Next Learning Tour to Guatemala October 7-17, 2013

MCC’s response – Root Causes

Relief

Development

Peace

Current Comprehensive Immigration Reform proposals do not have any responses to the Root Causes of Migration

Only domestic policy changes, increased law enforcement, and border security measures.

MCC U.S. Immigration Policy Principle # 6: Address political instability and economic disparity in migrants’ home countries caused, in part, by U.S. foreign policies and trade

agreements. Create incentives for sustainable development.

http://immigration.mcc.org

http://washington.mcc.org/immigration

@mccwashington - @mccimmigration

© 2012 Mennonite Central Committee