Why Migrate? The Underlying Economic Pushes and Pulls that Drive Migration
Submitted by Marguerite Thompson
(One in a justiceforimmigrants.org webinar series on the root causes of migration.)
Why aren’t more immigrants currently coming from Norway? Actually, from the last quarter of the 19th century to just a handful of years before the start of WWI, almost 1 million people from Norway – about one quarter of the Norwegian workforce – immigrated abroad, mostly to the U.S. These Norwegian immigrants were not only the least educated, but also among the poorest in their country. Moreover, upon arriving to the U.S., most unskilled Norwegian immigrants took the lowest paying jobs and, in the cities where they settled, mostly manual labor work. This reality has repeated itself throughout American history; economically ambitious migrants who want to provide more opportunity for themselves and for their families leaving a country where opportunities are limited. [Webinar description from July 26, 2023, www.justiceforimmigrants.org.]
This webinar focused on some of the economic variables that drive migration and examine what “pull factors” exist in the U.S. Many immigrants throughout history have been forced to flee due to violence, starvation and various forms of oppression. There are many resources on www.justiceforimmigrants.org for understanding Catholic principles of Migration. Check it out sometime!