Emigration In Latin America

Causes for Emigration in Contemporary Latin America

Similar to the Chinese of the 19th century, the United States is also a favorable destination of immigration to Latin Americans contemporarily. While Latin American nations do not face foreign threats as the Qing did, some nations face an equivalent, if not worse, economic hardships and violence. Instead of ubiquitous opium use and addiction, drug trafficking in Latin America presents threats to economic livelihood and personal security. In terms of statistics, In the list of major illicit drug producing/transit countries, approximately 60 percent of the countries are located in Latin America (Department of State 2015).

Behind the drug trafficking lie true roots of the phenomenon are the

Similarly, Latinos also frequently faced disadvantages compared to Whites and other ethnic minorities in terms of education, employment, and wages. As a result, they also have to work in the “3D” occupations of modern America. However, it is entirely plausible that the one correcting factor is the level of education, which translates to English and professional competency. When education level is compared in a controlled setting with other racial groups, differences in employability and wage earning significantly decrease. This reduction in economic gap might be observed more concretely with younger generations of Latin Americans who were either born in the United States or immigrated at young ages if they are given the same access to K-12 education as native Americans. (Duncan, Hotz, Trejo

During the 19th century, nearly all Chinese workers in the United States came as single men. Many did not expect to establish deep roots in the United States. As a result, they were not concerned about family visa status. The conditions of working in mines and on railroad tracks were extremely harsh, thus it was improbable that they changed their minds after their contract work ended (Stanford University 2018). On the contrary, Latin American immigrants are more likely to move to the United States with drastically different expectations. In 2009, approximately 39 percent of Mexicans stated that they had friends or relatives living in the United States (Pew Research Center 2009). Following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, the family reunification system began to gradually materialize. Through a series of adjustments and reforms, including the Immigration and Nationality Amendment Act of 1965 and the Immigration Act of 1990, family reunification essentially became an expectation for legal immigrants. As the Latin American immigration rates increased during those times, it has led to increased family ties between the United States and Mexico. Furthermore, the reunification system has lasted to present day, though it has increasingly become a controversial