Colombian Migration
To The United States of America
ByJuan Carlos Leon
“One of the Juan Gonzalez thesis is that
the Latin American migration into the United States is a result of the USA processes of territorial expansion, colonization and economic/political hegemonic over the Latin American
countries.”
Prof. Luis Alvarez-Lopez, Ph.D. Immigration and Public Policy 2012, The Today Historical Roots of the labor system.
Intro
Named after Christopher Columbus 49% are Mestizos, 37% are White, 10.6% Afro Colombian
(including Mulattos), 3.4% Amerindian, 0.01% Romani. Colombia´s capital city has a lower murder rate than the USA´s
capital city Colombia is home to the biggest theater festival, biggest salsa
festival, biggest flower parade, biggest outdoor horse parade and second biggest carnival in the world
Bogotá has the most extensive network of cycle routes out of every city in Latin America and almost the world
Colombia is the worlds third largest manufacturer of women’s lingerie
Colombia has the tallest seaside mountain in the world: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Facts
Based on the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
the external Colombian population is 4.7 million or almost 10% of the country’s population.
34.6% are in the United States, 23.1% in Spain, 20% in Venezuela, 3.1% in Ecuador and 2% in Canada. The rest are scattered out throughout the world
The largest South American ethnic group in the United States
The seventh-largest population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting for 1.9% of the U.S.
Figures
Figures
www.migrationinformation.org
Figures
Source: Department of Homeland Security, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, 2008. Figures include only immigrants who obtained legal permanent resident status.
Search for better job opportunities, which
means demand for unskilled labor in developed countries and higher pay skilled labor force in developed countries
Family reunification is an important motivation for migrating
Supply of higher education studies in other countries
Political, social, economic problems & insecurity, have fueled both voluntary and forced migration
Reasons
The most well-known concentration of Colombians
in the U.S are in Queens, NY, in the areas of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Corona & Woodside
Other States are: New Jersey, Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut & Texas
Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Colombia
Where?
A negative loss of talent for Colombia because the
majority of migrants tend to be better educated and in the prime of working life; making it a “brain drain” diaspora.
Positive because of remittances; which have
surpassed the value of coffee exports
Effects
Voices of Colombia from the Streets of Chicago
Colombian Americans Documentary
The Colombian Connection: Part I
The Colombian Connection: Part II
Voices
Centro Civico Colombiano in Queens, New York
Colombian American Coalition in Miami
The Colombian Way
Websites
Collier, Michael W., “Colombian Migration to South Florida: A Most Unwelcome Reception (Working Paper No. 9)”
(2004). LACC Working Paper Series (2001-). Paper 2. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/laccwps/2 John Leon. Turning brain drain into brain gain: the Colombian experience of the diaspora option. By .
http://www.academia.edu/1854585/Turning_brain_drain_into_brain_gain_the_Colombian_experience_of_the_diaspora_option
Juan Gonzalez. Chapter Nine, Colombians and Panamanians: Overcoming Division and Disdain. Harvest of Empire, A History of Latinos in America.
Luis Eduardo Guarnizo, Arturo Ignacio Sanchez & Elizabeth M. Roach (1999) Mistrust, fragmented solidarity, and transnational migration: Colombians in New York City and Los Angeles, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22:2, 367-396, DOI: 10.1080/014198799329521
Luis Eduardo Guarnizo & Luz Marina Diaz (1999) Transnational migration: a view from Colombia, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22:2, 397-421, DOI: 10.1080/014198799329530
Colombia Nos Une. Fortaleciendo vinculos con los colombianos en el exterior. http://www.redescolombia.org Myriam Berube, Migration Information Source, Colombia: In the Crossfire. Seth Motel and Eileen Patten, Hispanics of Colombian Origin in the United States, 2010, PewResearch Hispanic
Center. June 27, 2012. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/06/27/hispanics-of-colombian-origin-in-the-united-states-2010/
Boston Redevelopment Authority. http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/pdf/ResearchPublications//ColombianImmigrantsinBoston.pdf
Immigration in America, http://immigrationinamerica.org/441-colombian-immigrants.html?newsid=441 Helen B. Narrow, Harvard University, Colombian Americans.
http://helenmarrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Marrow_2005_EL_ColombianAmers.pdf
Sources