The meaning and usage of the term Latin America varies with the context. In the most common usage, the term Latin America refers to all those countries in the Americas in which Latinate languages of Spanish, Portuguese and French is spoken. In the United States the term is mostly used to refer to all countries south of the US including areas where English is widely spoken such as in Belize. Therefore, Mexico, most of central and Southern America, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean are included in the definition. This definition does not include territories that are Dutch speaking such as Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Historically the region took shape as a consequence of Spanish, Portuguese and French colonization of this part of the world.
The emphasis on classification based on European languages spoken though widespread is rather restrictive because there are areas where American Indian languages and culture are still predominant for example in Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala and Paraguay. There are regions where African influence is very strong as well such as the Caribbean, parts of Venezuela, Colombia and coastal Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. The United States also has had a big influence in shaping the culture of this region especially in Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico as a US territory. The US also held parts of Panama along the Panama Canal until 1979. The Latin American countries are therefore bound together by a common historical heritage, social and economic structures that supersede the respective states.
The shared social values and beliefs bring about a common identity to the people who occupy this region. The Latin American region is perhaps the most diverse region in the world in terms of the demographics of the population. It is a racial and ethnic mix of great proportions. The region is also characterized by poverty and inequality with Haiti having the distinction of being the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Income inequalities are rife in countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, and Colombia among others. The Latin American region is also plagued by very high crime rates and drug smuggling. The high crime rate is partly attributed to poverty and income inequalities in the region.
In this paper, I shall seek to examine one issue in the contemporary history of this region and to find out how that issue affects the inter-American relationship. One of the biggest issues in recent times and the one under analysis here is immigration. In this context, immigration refers to the movement and subsequent settlement of people from one country to another in pursuit of jobs, higher standard of living and education. In this case it is the movement from the Latin American region to the North American region more so the United States of America. Immigrants to the US from Latin America have been steadily increasing eventually accounting for more than 60% of the immigrants into the US during the 1990s (Edmonston 1996). Immigration is an important issue in recent history because the movement of people from Latin American to the United States in large numbers has had significant impact on the origin countries of Latin America as well as the host country the USA.
The causes of immigration vary with each situation. Immigration experts generally acknowledge that there are push and pull factors that influence this trend (Passy, Giugni 2006). Push factors from the country of origin include poverty and low standards of living. Pull factors include better educational opportunities and availability of jobs in the host country. The issue of immigration has become such a dominant one as to affect the discourse between the United States and the Latin American countries. It has come to define the relationship between the two regions especially in the case of Mexico which shares a 2000 mile land border with the United States. Being such an important issue, it is instructive for us to find out in detail the reasons that prompt people to immigrate to the United States from Latin America.
The Latin American region is generally characterized by poverty and income inequalities. According to a study the Commission of Economics for Latin America (CEPAR) (2002), there are more than 200 million people who live below the poverty line in Latin America. The level varies in each country with Honduras at 79.1%, Nicaragua 67.4%, Peru 49%, Mexico 42.3%, among others. The high rate of poverty is attributed to several reasons. Historically, the problem of poverty can be traced back to the colonial period and the emergence of a minority upper class. The elite upper class owned vast tracts of land and monopolized all the instruments of production. The majority working population that constituted the middle class as well as the lower class does not earn as much money as the elite even in countries where they are well remunerated.
The structure and dynamics of the Latin American labor market has also contributed greatly to poverty. The process of modernization and industrialization in the region did not produce a commensurate amount of new job openings as a product of the inefficiency of the government. As a result, the small middle class that existed was wiped away. The only other alternative is the informal sectors and temporary jobs which are low paying and do not provide social security. This leads to workers to facing serious risks in health, unemployment and lack of income in their old age.
Unemployment is a major factor that has contributed to poverty in the Latin American region and as a result has led to an increase in migration of persons to the United States of America in search of jobs and better living standards. With the economic reforms that were carried out in the 1980s, thousands of people got laid off. Mostly it was the heads of the households- the bread winners, but occasionally even women and youths were affected in the crisis. Part of the reason for the crisis of unemployment is the privatization initiatives that were undertaken in conformity to the structural adjustment programs during the 1980s and 1990s. The problem is also accredited to the shift in patterns of trade towards production of primary goods and raw materials. In the 1990s the unemployment situation worsened. Debt relief programs, return of investment capital and price controls were not able to stem the growing rates of unemployment. .
The Latin American countries also suffer from high unequal distribution of income even by comparative third world standards. In Chile for example, 20% of the population earns 60% of the income while the other 20% earn 3.5%. In a more glaring case of Brazil, 10% of the population earns more than half the income while 10% of the populations do not get even 1% of the income. Poverty, unemployment and unequal distribution of income has contributed significantly to the immigration of people northwards in search of better standards of living and an opportunity to experience the American dream. There are other non-economic reasons for immigration that have also contributed to the movement north. Some people migrate for personal reasons. They move to the United States to link up with their family members who preceded them.
The biggest effect of immigration of person from Latin America to the USA is the change in the demographics of the US population (Edmonston, 1996). According to the United Nations, a typical American woman bears 1.93 children which is less than the 2.1 required to keep a population stable without immigration. It is noted therefore that barring immigration, the American population will eventually shrink in the long term. The census Bureau estimates that by 2050 the population of Hispanic whites will have outstripped that of non-Hispanic whites in the US. The increase in population of the Latin American immigrants is crucial in maintaining economic productivity in the United States. In California for example, many businesses and industries are dependant on immigrant labor from Mexico. The agricultural sector would find it very difficult to maintain its present level of productivity or to expand its market without the use of Latin American labor force.
This flow of human traffic from the Latin American countries to the Northern American countries especially the United States elicited varied reactions from both sides. The public opinion on this subject is usually heated up especially in the United States where some see immigrants as a threat to their jobs. In the United States, there is debate on the merits and demerits of immigration especially in the post 9/11 era. Anti-immigration sentiments run deep in some quarters.
Their first point of worry for those against immigration is that with the current trend, the majority of the US population in future will be composed of immigrants. This is a worry in the sense that they perceive the typical American values to be under threat. The immigrants having come from foreign lands are bound to have different values and belief systems. The sustainability of long cherished ideals of liberty, personal freedom and democracy in the United States is in question given the massive influx of immigrants.
Critics of the immigrants further argue that it has contributed in increase in crime rate in the country. It is estimated that between four and seven percent of the 1.5 million people being held in jail are non-citizens (James, Edmonston, 1998). However the link between crime and immigration has not been conclusively established yet. The immigrant community usually is very disproportionately composed of young males who are more likely to engage in acts of crime (James, Edmonston 1998). There has also been a concern about the impact of immigration on wages of native Americans especially young black and native Hispanic Americans who are in direct competition for jobs with the immigrants (Koser 2007). Hostilities have arisen out of a realization that employers would prefer to employ immigrants as opposed to native Americans because they are offered lower wages. There has however been no conclusive and proven effect of immigration on lowering of wages of native Americans. Research indicates that the effects of immigrant labor on the wages of the native are negligible at most (Spencer 1994).
The other argument advanced against immigration is the strain in resources that result from an explosion of the population. It is estimated by the population Bureau that by 2050 the population of the United States will rise from the current 281 million to well over 300 million people. This will have significant impact on the environment and in the overall consumption of fossil fuel especially petroleum. The US currently constitutes 5% of the world population, is responsible for creating 27% of the world’s economy while in the process consuming 25% of the world’s resources. It also generates 30% of the world’s waste. The impact on the environment by the USA is 250 times greater than an average sub-Saharan African country. A population explosion in the United States is therefore bound to be catastrophic to the global environment (Passy, F., Giugni, Marco,2006).
On the part of the origin countries of Latin America, there has been an outflow of skilled human capital commonly referred to as brain drain. Brain drain is the movement of a large group of skilled people from their countries to other countries where they are more likely to get good opportunities to further their careers. Brain drain is a cost to the economies of Latin America because the emigrants have partly been trained with government money which then goes to benefit other countries. In many Latin American countries for instance, where medical schools enrolment is high, those countries suffer from a shortage of doctors. A study conducted in 2000 indicated that Latin American countries had lost considerable amount of skilled labor. Argentina had lost 19.1%, Chile 15.6%, Mexico 2.6% and Peru 10%. (Passy, F., Giugni & Marco, 2006).
On the other hand in Latin America, more so in Mexico which is the leading origin nation of new immigrants to the United States, immigration is seen as a very essential element in maintaining the economic growth. Mexico contributes seasonal and permanent migrants to the United States. The closure of the US Mexico border would have far reaching repercussions in the country. It will worsen the economic crisis and upset the political stability. It is clear that Mexico is reliant on the United States absorption of migrants in so far as eradication of unemployment in the country is concerned. Some groups in the United States have accused the government of Mexico of aiding potential illegal migrants into the United States by providing them with maps and advice on important aspects of the journey.
In Latin American countries immigration is seen as a way through which individuals can improve their lives by relocating to the United States where there are better job opportunities than in their original countries. Remittances from the diaspora also contribute a lot in the income of the nation and many families in Latin America are dependent on their kin who have managed to move to the United States for their income. It is therefore only reasonable for the Latin American people to favor immigration contrary to the views of the citizens of the United States.
In conclusion, the issue of immigration of Latin Americans to the United States is of great importance. This is because it has the potential of altering relations between North America and the Latin American region. The tragedy is that it has become a political issue with immigrants becoming a convenient scapegoat for any problem in the country (Koser 2007). It is also a mutually beneficial issue if handled correctly (Spencer 1994). The United States gets the much needed labor force while the Latin American nations find a way to reduce unemployment and get foreign remittances from their citizens in the US.
References
Edmonston, B., Smith, P. J., National Research Council (US), (1998). The Immigration Debate: Studies on the Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration National Academy Press
Edmonston, B., National Research Council (US), (1996). Statistics on US Migration: An Assessment on Data Needs for Future Research. National Academy Press
Passy, F., Giugni, Marco, (2006). Dialogue on Migration Policy. Lexington Books.
Koser, K., (2007) International Migration: A very short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Spencer, S., Institute for Public Policy Research (London), (1994). Immigration as an Economic Asset: The German Experience. Institute for Public Policy Research