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Question 1
History of human migration to California
The state of California is very crucial when studying migration patterns in the United States of America. California became very populated because many American natives from the other parts of the country moved there. With a population of more than 39 million people as of 2019, according to the US Census Bureau, the population of California has surpassed that of many countries and US states. The economic effects of California have been felt in the US (Davis, 2006:81).
The history of migration into California dates back to beyond 1542 when it was one of the regions with a lot of linguistic diversity in North America. The Spanish expedition of 1769 – 1770 led to the setting up of missions around the California coast near San Diego. The Spanish military also established ports and small towns that later grew and became great Los Angeles and San Jose cities. After the independence of Mexico in 1821, California fell under the new empire of Mexico. From the year 1848 to 1855, California’s gold rush led to thousands of young, energetic people from around the world rush to California. The favorable economic activities in California made many people settle therein. California participated in the American civil war of 1850, which led to the driving away of the Chinese immigrants. The connection of California to the rail network in 1869 opened up the region, and it became a productive agricultural region linked to the rich economy of other regions. California’s economic strength has been in the areas of oil, tourism, agriculture, shipping, film industry, electronics, and aerospace.
In the 1960s, California turned into a city with a very high population, and with the strong economy came in another demographic feature of the world perception. By 1990, California had turned into an ethnic kaleidoscope where so many migrations into the city centered on ranches and development work jobs within southern and central California. Albeit World War II and its quick consequence eliminated a portion of the limitations on Asian migration, it was not until congress re-composed movement law in 1965 that the way was cleared for the exceptional expansion of people groups that over the most recent twenty years has shined a different light on the term variety in California. The main edge of the very long term venture of American globalism, Hollywood’s movies spread all over alluring pictures of American lavishness and similarly refracted portrayals of California.
In conclusion, the biggest increment has come from outside the state. And individuals from different countries have followed the path of post-war occasion to California. The war that opened up the new demography likewise denoted a key change in California’s legislative issues and cognizance. California is considered the movement setter; Californians have rehashed it from that point onward, investing wholeheartedly in an entire rundown of assumed social fares, from the way of life advancements.
Question 3: Theories of Migration
Migration has been contained to shape the lives and settlement patterns of people over the ages. The process of migration has continued to be a complex phenomenon. Many factors that have continued to shape the migration patterns of people in different parts of the world include political, economic, social, and environmental factors and the behaviors and perceptions of the people. Many migration theories have been postulated, but each migration remains unique in its own ways and pattern. This implies that the theories are by no means comprehensive, but the migration process has been considered under social and economic theory, behavioral theory, and spatial analysis theory (Johnson 1981:218). This paper discusses the neoclassical theory, the migration system, and networks and the world system theory.
The Neoclassical theory asserts that labor markets and world economies tend to move towards the equilibrium point because of migration and trade. Migration is a deliberate process where the migrants act rationally. The migrants always shift from a region with huge labor and meager wages to scarce labor and high wages. This is majorly seen in brain drain. Experts tend to move from low economic to high economic regions of the world to get the huge economic benefit of an individual without regard to other issues like cultural variations, legal barriers, and domestic matters.
Migration System Network Theory attributes the cumulative causes of migration to reducing the economic, social, and emotional factors subject to migration networks. This theory explains how the immigrants transmit their immigration experiences to their close family members and friends from their initial countries as driving factors to international migration. The methods are easier for the new immigrates as they find a stable migration foundation upon which they rest. This migration causes a multiplier effect referred to by some scholars as chain migration (Arango, 2000: 84).The new immigration move to their new locations with lower risks and low costs. The theory helps in the understanding of individual families’ reunion during migration and migration chains experienced worldwide. The theory neglects that migration decisions are individual decisions, and it does not consider migration during a crisis.
The Dual Labor Market Theory lays more emphasis on the immigrant’s host Country. It focuses on the external factors informing the migration. The continuous demand for labor of the international workforce is one major characteristic of the labor markets in the industrialized nations; a highly skilled workforce becomes reluctant to assumed jobs that fall within the lower candles, informing the decisions to demand relatively cheaper international labor. In many developed counties where a good fraction of the populace becomes aged, there is a need to get such labor from other countries to replace labor in personal and health care services for such factors in the immigrants’ original counties. It also ignores the fact that much migration occurs without the recruitment factors coming into play.
The migration of people is an occurrence that is likely not to end soon. People have been moving not only from low to high-income areas, but also the reverse has been occurring. In as much the theories try to explain why people migrate, their assertions are not exhaustive as the nature and causes of migrations always vary. Migration is caused by an amalgamation of push and pulls factors, classified as micro, meso, and macro-factors. Migration is beneficial and detrimental to both the immigrant and the host country.