Suchergebnisse

All countries deal with migration a little differently from one another, however, the way immigration is dealt with in some Latin American countries is based off of policies applied in the United States. The U.S. is a much stronger country than some of the Latin American countries they are relatively close to, and it therefore has the power to influence other countries to create policies that will help the U.S. achieve their goals. The U.S. has been largely anti-immigration in recent years and has consequently pressured Latin American Countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador into doing more to stop migrants from reaching the Mexico- U.S. border. Many of these migrants are coming from countries in the Northern Triangle (Figure 1), which is a turbulent region of Central America comprised of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. High levels of violence in the area is a major push factor for citizens of these three countries.

This paper examines international migration policies in Latin America in the context of the two major flows currently taking place: labor migrations of unskilled workers between bordering countries which are characterized by unequal levels of development; and the migration of highly skilled persons, both to (European skilled immigrants) and from (brain drain to industrialized countries) the region. There are major gaps in policy formulations on the labor migrations of unskilled workers in spite of the size of the movements and the human and national interest involved. On the migration of skilled personnel, Latin American governments have tried some policies but, unfortunately, these have not been successful.

Policies on international migration since the Second World War reflect the enormous changes in economic, social and political situations around the world.The implications of changes in the volume and composition of international migration have increasingly become an issue of major concern to governments in all countries.Following emigration from Europe to countries of the New World as a result of war‐damaged economies, reconstruction witnessed high demand for migrant labour, mainly from parts of southern Europe. But by the early 1970s, decline in economic growth, unexpected impacts of the guest‐worker scheme, and an increase in refugees from Third World countries led, in due course, to an era of restriction on entry of asylum‐seekers and tighter controls over undocumented migration to developed countries.A "new era" evolved during the 1990s, characterized by growing interdependence of major economic powers. Globalization led not only to a significant demand for highly‐skilled and professional workers, but also to decision‐making on some aspects of the migration process being transferred from the national to the regional level, and an increase in the influence of multinational corporations.The globalization process, and the growing influence of international trade regimes, may well represent the first steps towards a new "international migration regime" that incorporates all types of migration.