TECHNICAL SEMINAR ON THE CONTINUOUS REPORTING SYSTEM ON LABOUR MIGRATION FOR THE AMERICAS SICREMI

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1 Continuous Reporting System on Labour Migration of the Americas SICREMI Migration and Development Program Executive Secretariat for Integral Development TECHNICAL SEMINAR ON THE CONTINUOUS REPORTING SYSTEM ON LABOUR MIGRATION FOR THE AMERICAS SICREMI th th March 17 and 18, 2009 Washington, DC

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3 INDEX I. PRESENTATION BY JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, Secretary General of the Organization of American States II. FIRST SESSION: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL LABOUR MIGRATION IN THE AMERICAS... 3 ROUND TABLE: RECENT TRENDS IN LABOUR MIGRATION IN THE AMERICAS: MAGNITUDE, CHARACTERISTICS AND WAYS TO IMPROVE DATA COMPARABILITY The project on conducted by the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE) Population division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Jorge Martínez Pizarro (ECLAC/CELADE, Santiago de Chile) Migration from Central and South America and the Caribbean to Mexico, Leticia Jáuregui Casanueva (CREA, Mexico) ROUND TABLE: LABOUR MIGRATION FROM THE AMERICAS TO OECD COUNTRIES: MAGNITUDE AND CHALLENGES Brazilians in the OECD countries and neighboring countries of South America, Masato Ninomiya (Universidad de São Paulo) Latin American Immigration to Spain: , Antonio Izquierdo Escribano (Universidad de Coruña) Migration from Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States: trends and challenges", Shirley Smith (United States) III. SECOND SESSION: THE FUNCTIONING OF THE SICREMI ROUND TABLE: RELEVANT INFORMATION ON LABOUR MIGRATION POLICIES Keeping the national united: structures and mechanisms connecting emigrants to Portugal", Jorge Malheiros (Centro de Estudios Geográficos, Lisboa) Défis de la mobilité de Hawtemet qualifiés de l Amérique Latine : quelques éléments de réflexion", Jean Baptiste Meyer (IRD, Montpellier). Only available in French SICREMI in the context of migration in Latin America notes on public policy, Gustavo Mohar Betancourt (Secretaría de Gobernación, Mexico) IV. CLOSING REMARKS, MARTINE DURAND.141

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5 Presentation by José Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States The issue of migration has increasingly become an issue of importance on the international and, specifically, on the hemispheric agenda and that of the OAS. I must insist, however, as I often do: that immigration is not a new historical phenomenon, nor is it greater now than it has been in the past. On the contrary, massive migrations of human beings have not only been a constant throughout history, but have also been an important vehicle for the exchange of ideas, traditions, and customs; for the transmission of technological advances and for the universalisation of artistic expressions. Why does this concern us so much today? It is probably due to the magnitude that the phenomenon has reached in absolute terms, despite the fact that in relative terms in relation to the total population the quantity of actual migrants today is no greater than it was in the past. We are living in a period in which millions of people are displaced and, naturally, this has effects that multiply throughout almost all of the areas of social activity. Between 1960 and 2000 the number of migrants increased by approximately 100 million people, and by the year 2000 the total number had reached 180 million human beings. The International Organization for Migration estimates that by last year, this figure had reached more than 200 million, which is equal to 3% of the world s population. One out of every 35 people in the world is in reality a migrant. This impressive volume of people living in places different from those in which they were born and experiencing different climates, cultures, and labour challenges from those of existing where they began their lives, provokes situations that should require our attention. The majority of these situations are quite positive and should be stimulated, however, negative situations also exist which we should overcome. The causes of world migration are multiple, heterogeneous and complex. However, in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean it can be affirmed that economic factors are the distinctive feature. The relative disparity in development between the countries of origin and of destination, the financial crisis and growth crisis, imbalances in labor markets, as well as the natural and commendable aspiration to overcome poverty and inequality are the primary incentives that lead our people to emigrate. According to estimates made by the International Organization for Migration, last year more than 30 million people of Latin American and Caribbean origin lived in a country other than the one of their birth. This means that 15% of world migrants come from this part of the world and that one out of every seven migrants is born in Latin America or the Caribbean. Over the last few years, practically all of the countries of the region have transformed into countries of origin, transit and destination of migrants. To deal with all of these themes we have created, within the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI in Spanish) of the OAS, the Development and Migration Program. Through this program it is our intention to contribute to the formulation of public policy that promotes just, safe and orderly migration processes. In this field, information is fundamental and it is undoubtedly the first step needed for advancing in any efforts that seek to improve the conditions of migration and its effects in our hemisphere.

6 In reality, significant efforts are currently being made in this area. At a global level we should recognize the important efforts in the collection of information about migration that some of the principal international organizations perform. Included among this group is the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the International Labour Organization. With specific relevance for the Americas, the efforts conducted through the Investigation of International Migration in Latin America project (IMILA in Spanish) and its databank as well as the work of the Centre for Demographic Studies of CEPAL should be recognized. These efforts notwithstanding, we believe that it is necessary to make an additional effort in this direction towards the creation of a system that provides homogenous and constantly updated information. It should be a system capable of overcoming problems of incompatibility between national statistics, gaps between the conducting of censuses, the difficulty in estimating irregular migration and the variance among definitions of immigrant that exist in each country. It is with this purpose in mind that through the Migration and Development Program we have created the Continuous Reporting System on Labour Migration in the Americas or SICREMI in Spanish. This system, designed based on the SOPEMI system created by the OECD for its member states, will continuously compile up to date migratory information. Through this system, concise regional information related to migratory tendencies including changes in immigrant population, gender, age, education, country of origin, the situation of immigrant workers and other important indicators will be provided to the Member States of the OAS and to the rest of the world. It is our hope to contribute to an improved understanding of the tendencies of immigration flows and of the changes in the immigrant populations residing in each country of our hemisphere. Overall, we hope to assist in the diagnosis of migration issues and in the formulation of migration related policy in the Americas. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for its important contribution of technical information that has allowed us to develop this new instrument. I would also like to thank the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development for their financial support, without which we would not have been able to develop this system. I also want to be sure to thank all of the participants of this seminar. Only through your help will we be able to facilitate the practical organization and the creation of the road map for future actions that will be needed to lead us toward implementing SICREMI so that is ready to meet the needs of the hemisphere. Welcome and thank you. 2

7 FIRST SESSION INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL LABOUR MIGRATION IN THE AMERICAS

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9 ROUND TABLE: RECENT TRENDS IN LABOUR MIGRATION IN THE AMERICAS: MAGNITUDE, CHARACTERISTICS AND WAYS TO IMPROVE DATA COMPARABILITY

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11 THE PROJECT ON CONDUCTED BY THE LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN DEMOGRAPHIC CENTRE (CELADE) POPULATION DIVISION OF THE ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (ECLAC) Jorge Martínez Pizarro This room document has been prepared by Jorge Martínez Pizarro (CELADE Population Division of ECLAC). The views expressed are those of the author and do not commit the OECD, the OAS or the national authorities concerned.

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13 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability THE PROJECT ON CONDUCTED BY THE LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN DEMOGRAPHIC CENTRE (CELADE) POPULATION DIVISION OF THE ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (ECLAC) Introduction Jorge Martínez Pizarro 1. The topic of international migration generally arouses interest in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The issues involved, however, are not easily addressed. On the one hand, there is the possibility of benefiting from emigration; on the other, there are the difficulties that migrant workers encounter during their journey to their destinations and the problems they face in becoming integrated in the host country. Losses of human capital may seem to be offset by gains in financial capital, but what is needed is a clear picture of the trends, magnitude and characteristics of international migration flows in the region. How many nationals of one country are resident in another? And which countries are they living in? Where exactly are immigrants located in each country? What kind of work are they finding? How intensive and segmented is participation of immigrant workers, and immigrant women in particular, in the labour market? What is their educational background? In Latin America and the Caribbean, population censuses, the traditional source of information on the situation in a given country, provide answers to many questions, and although they do not make it possible to measure all aspects, they do constitute an indispensable tool for gaining insight into international migration today. 2. In its ongoing analysis of the relationship between migration and development, the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE) Population Division of ECLAC has accumulated, since the 1970s, a broad experience in the systemization, diffusion, explanation and analysis of information on international migration that it has obtained from national censuses taken in the region. Censuses offer the advantage of being the most diverse source of information in terms of geographic scale (they cover issues from the household to the national level) for identifying what are usually minority groups and are widely used in the region and other parts of the world. 3. Other information sources, such as entry and exit records and work permit or residency permit figures have either been hardly developed as statistical tools and rarely used for analytical purposes in the region (except in a few sub regional initiatives to set up information systems in which CELADE Population Division of ECLAC has participated) or they have not been properly exploited for the compilation and analysis of data on international migration in the same way as national household and multi purpose surveys, which, moreover, are conducted in all the countries of the region. These limitations underscore the advantages of using population censuses as sources of information. Specific surveys on migration are rare, but they can complement the data obtained from population censuses and form part of migration information systems. 4. At this point in time, the lack of statistical information on international migration makes national household and population censuses the source of the most reliable data for systemizing empirical background information and performing studies to identify trends, predict changes and make policy recommendations for the handling of international migration in Latin America and the Caribbean. 9

14 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability 5. The information obtained from censuses does, of course, suffer from constraints that need to be taken into account and which result in diagnoses being limited to the variables incorporated in the censuses themselves. As new questions on specific topics are included, the range of aspects open to investigation will increase. One of the more promising initiatives in this respect has been the progressive inclusion of questions on remittances and on former household members now living abroad. The criteria used in the setting of census variables need to be harmonized, however, and the questions need to be simplified for the 2010 round of censuses. The IMILA project of CELADE Population Division of ECLAC 6. The Project on Investigation of International Migration in Latin America (IMILA) was conceived in the early 1970s by CELADE Population Division of ECLAC and is a concrete example of intraregional cooperation, since it implies that countries hand over responsibility for collecting their data to an international organization in the interest of a common cause: that of determining the extent and characteristics of migration of the region s population. The project began by processing data from the 1960 round of censuses for three countries and, following its success, was used as a basis for systematizing the records of most of the countries that carried out population and housing censuses in the 1970s; this coverage has been maintained up to the present. 7. The underlying principles of the IMILA project and its more notable features have been acclaimed on numerous occasions for their originality. These include: a. Exchange. The number of persons enumerated in countries other than their country of birth is calculated by processing information on the population born abroad as provided to CELADE Population Division of ECLAC by the respective national statistical offices in census databases (or special tabulations); immigrant and emigrant stocks are quantified and characterized for each country at dates corresponding to each census round. Such exchanges are best illustrated through matrix tables showing the origin and destination of migrants between countries. b. Migrant specification. The identification of persons according to their migrant status depends on the questions contained in the national censuses. Such specification usually refers to the place (country) of birth, but, in some cases, the year of arrival in the country can also be determined as well as the country of residence on a date prior to that of the census. This makes it possible to have various estimates on immigration and emigration which can be very valuable as inputs in the preparation of population projections. c. Migrant profile. The census data provided by each country on persons born abroad is processed to generate a set of 14 basic tables relating to socio demographic and socio economic characteristics (age, fertility, infant mortality, marital status, education and employment); in most of these tables, the gender of the persons is identified. In addition, the relevant data bases, if available, can be used to study certain basic issues for different geographic levels (from the household to the national level), with specifications on the socio economic condition. d. Return migration. An additional tabulation of return migration for people born in one country who at a certain point in time (five years prior to the census) were living in a different country than the one of their birth was included in the more recent data processing exercises. This information makes it possible to determine the characteristics of return migration by contrasting the socio demographic and economic characteristics of this population with those of the non migrant population. This 10

15 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability analysis of course requires the in depth examination of circumstances during the preceding five years, both in the countries of origin and the countries of destination, and involves gross estimates that should not be confused with the figures for the repatriation of undocumented persons. e. Dissemination of data. The data systematized under the IMILA project was published periodically by CELADE Population Division of ECLAC in its Demographic Bulletin and webcast on its subsite on international migration accessible through the ECLAC webpage ( The Demographic Bulletin No. 65, published in 2000, contains data on the 1980 and 1990 census rounds. The data corresponding to the 2000 census round was disseminated and analysed in the first issue of a new publication, Demographic Observatory, in An online databank for the two latest census rounds has just been designed. This databank allows for tabulations to be obtained on the basis of two search criteria: (i) the emigrants from a country, in other words, the country of birth of people identified by their country of residence; and (ii) immigrants in a country, in other words, the country in which the census was performed or people live, for people identified by a specific country of birth. 1 The IMILA tabulations are available on the webpage of CELADE Population Division of ECLAC and contain information on the 2000 and 1990 census rounds. Users can draw up tables according to the variables used in the IMILA project. The stock of migrants by country of birth and by country of residence 5 years earlier is calculated (12 tables and 1 table, respectively). f. Geographic coverage. The IMILA project was originally designed to collect information on the 20 Latin American countries, but now also includes statistics on the countries of the English speaking Caribbean. The coverage has been gradually extended to include Latin American and Caribbean emigrants enumerated in census exercises outside of the region, especially in the United States and Canada, and, to a lesser extent, in other destination countries, including some European countries (specially Spain), Australia, Japan and Israel. 8. Information is available on all population stocks of 500 people or more. For population stocks of less than 500 people, the people born in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are presented by sex and age in a table, inasmuch as this information was available. 9. The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) and several other international organizations have recognized the IMILA project as a virtually unique example of systematization of census information on international migration and have recommended that other countries in the world undertake this type of information exchange. Limitations and potential uses of the IMILA data 10. The IMILA databank has always had both limitations and potential. Often the census data are not sufficiently disseminated or used; sometimes they suffer from obvious errors, in addition to underlying flaws. Some of these conceptual and technical limitations are presented below. 11. IMILA makes use of the unquestionable advantages offered by censuses in particular their universality and the vast range of socio demographic and socio economic data that they collect but it does so subject to the quality of each census operation. Indeed, CELADE Population Division of ECLAC has repeatedly cautioned users researchers, academics, government officials and international organizations and professional associations that the census information processed by this project has limitations. 1 The webpage has been recently redesigned and, together with the online databank, provides information and links to other initiatives in the information system ( 11

16 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability 12. Conceptually, the first limitation of the census information is the differential undercount rates for total population and international migrants, which concerns, above all, persons who do not belong to any household and undocumented immigrants (who, even if enumerated, will not identify themselves as such). A second type of limitation concerns the comparability of data at the international level, owing to the irregular periodicity of national census operations, the different interpretations of the notion of residence used, depending on whether authorities have opted for a de facto or a de jure census, and the variations in working definitions of the features of the population. A third restriction, relating to methodology, stems from the fact that as every census enumerates the existing population at a given point in time, the data refer only to accumulated migrant stocks up to that time (that is, to the total number of immigrants who have survived and who, up to the date of the census, had not returned to their country of origin) and not to the migration movements that took place over the period; in other words, it fails to look at migration as a continuum. A fourth limitation, not unrelated to the foregoing, is the inability to reflect the diversity of the spatial mobility of individuals; nevertheless, efforts are being made to overcome this limitation, as shown in the case of Argentina, where, since the last census (2001), plans have been underway for conducting sample surveys on immigrant households. 13. From a strictly technical point of view, two points should be stressed. On the one hand, starting with the 1980 census round, most of the IMILA data have been based on census data that each country has made available to CELADE Population Division of ECLAC, and the procedure is expected to be the same for the 2010 round. While this is affected by budgetary rigidities, since the 1990 round, the data have been processed using the REDATAM program (Retrieval of data for small areas by microcomputer) developed by CELADE Population Division of ECLAC. 2 2 This is considered the surest and most useful way of preserving, updating and refining the IMILA database. With respect to data processing, countries are not sufficiently rigorous in their use of standardized international codes for identifying the country of origin (country of birth or of prior residence) of persons and this makes processing of census data more complicated. Thus, CELADE Population Division of ECLAC recommends that national statistical offices should use the relevant international list (Standard Country or Area Codes and Geographic Regions for Statistical Use). 14. IMILA is currently an online database. This enables users to operate with greater autonomy and according to their own interests. The information presented is that contained in the IMILA tabulations, not the census microdata, which are not made available and are only processed in new tabulations within the research conducted by CELADE Population Division of ECLAC in its programme of work. 15. The potential for using census information contained in the IMILA project is illustrated by the numerous research studies which have generated an approximate knowledge of international migration in the region. Since its inception, the project has provided an empirical framework for producing direct estimates of migration and studying regional migration trends and patterns, immigrant and emigrant profiles, in contrast with those of nativeborn populations, migration in sub regions and border regions, migration of skilled labour and the operation of labour markets, living conditions of migrants, migration of young people, return migration and gender issues, among others. IMILA and its impact on migration in the region 16. The study of international migration is a central component of the programme of work of CELADE and the information is used repeatedly either for the preparation of diagnostic analyses or to corroborate 2 This software, which may be downloaded free of charge ( enables researchers to operate directly with the census databases and to process the information including that relating to small geographic areas and to adapt it to their research objectives. 12

17 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability theories on international migration. A research study was recently completed on international migration, development and human rights, which was presented at the thirty first session of ECLAC, in Montevideo (March, 2006) and then incorporated into a book published by ECLAC. The Population Division of ECLAC has consistently studied the links between globalization processes and migration and the analysis of changes in the migration map of the Americas. 17. Migration is treated as a priority issue in the Commission s proposals for the construction of a regional agenda for addressing globalization. Thus, CELADE Population Division of ECLAC was called upon to contribute to the elaboration of substantive material for the Thirty First Session of the Commission, which was held in Montevideo in 2006, and much of the information was taken from the IMILA project. 18. In addition to working on a permanent basis with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC today is carrying out activities with several international organizations. Through an agreement with the Ibero American Secretariat (SEGIB), for example, it is providing support, together with the International Organization for Migration, for a series of activities on international migration, including research into the social welfare of migrants and other studies, within the framework of the Ibero American Forum on Migration and Development. A strategic association has also been forged with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), within the ECLAC/UNFPA regional programme, to conduct studies on health and migration in selected border areas in the region using a rights and vulnerability based approach. 19. The experience accumulated so far in joint activities with other organizations and IMILA will be put to good use in the project scheduled to commence in April 2009 entitled Strengthening national capacities to deal with international migration: Maximizing development benefits and minimizing negative impact. The regional commissions (ECLAC, the Economic Commission for Africa, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the Economic Commission for Europe and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs will be the executing agencies, and the project will be headed by ECLAC and carried out by CELADE Population Division of ECLAC in with funds from the United Nations Development Account. 20. The overarching objective of the project is to strengthen national capacities to integrate international migration issues into national development strategies, in order to leverage their benefits and minimize any negative effects. 21. The project s specific objectives include improving the quality and availability of data on international migration, affording particular attention to female migration, building up institutional and human resources capacities to design and implement policies and programmes and promoting cooperation by means of an intra and interregional network to exchange information, studies, policies, experiences and best practices among countries and regions. 22. With these objectives in mind, three achievements have been identified for the project: (i) create an interregional network of institutions, experts and regional and national centres, in order to increase knowledge and exchange best practices on migration policies in relation to development issues in the five regions involved; (ii) increase availability of information on international migration and its effects on development; and (iii) improve national skills and capacities to design and implement policies and programmes, taking into account the particular challenges raised by international migration. 23. Coordinated action on the part of the five regional commissions and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs DESA, as well as the collaboration of other stakeholders, such as intergovernmental organizations, regional development agencies and research centres, will help to create a critical mass of 13

18 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability know how and information on the links between international migration and development. The project beneficiaries will be governments, institutional and intergovernmental agencies, research centres, nongovernmental organizations and civil society stakeholders involved in migration issues. IMILA and initiatives on migration information systems in the region 24. Based on its experience of running IMILA, CELADE Population Division of ECLAC has been working on joint inquiries with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support statistical offices and migration departments in the countries of Latin America, with a view to creating sub regional information systems in the Central American and Andean countries. Although these ideas are not new, since initiatives on regional information systems have existed for decades, they did not fully materialize until the 1990s, so are too recent to be evaluated in detail These projects systemize data from two main sources: entry and exit registers (and other administrative or ongoing records), on the one hand, and census information, for which CELADE Population Division of ECLAC is responsible, on the other. One such project, known as the Information System on International Migration in Countries of the Andean Community (SIMICA), was carried out in in the Andean countries (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru). SIMICA encompassed national training in data handling for the staff of departments involved in migration issues and it generated a number of studies. The system is no longer in operation, however, which is indicative of the fragility of projects whose sustainability is not assured. 26. Another project now under way is the Statistical Information System on Migration in Mesoamerica (SIEMMES), which IOM and CELADE Population Division of ECLAC developed in response to a request from the Regional Conference on Migration. This project, which was originally called Statistical Information System on Migration in Central America (SIEMCA), includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama and began in January 2001 ( 27. SIEMMES is a system of migration information designed to capture and monitor the magnitude and characteristics of migratory movements from, to and between the Central American countries and Mexico, by coordinating and compatibilizing the data generated by different agencies in all those countries. 28. SIEMMES has drawn heavily on all the available sources of data (censuses, household surveys and administrative records) to develop migration indicators that are comparable between countries. This has helped to strengthen the human resource capacities in national agencies responsible for migration statistics migration departments and statistical institutions through cooperation agreements and technical linkups. 29. CELADE Population Division of ECLAC has played a decisive role in both schemes, by designing, coordinating and implementing different project stages and conducting training in the analysis of census data on international migration, using the IMILA database as a reference framework. Conclusion 3 It must be added that systems and sources of information are being developed around emerging issues and in multiple ways: for example, there are observatories on migration (such as that of IOM in South America) and on human rights (run by civil society organizations). Many academic groupings are organized in Internet news groups and portals. Remittances are being studies in relation to national accounts and global initiatives are under way to improve remittance statistics. 14

19 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability 30. CELADE Population Division of ECLAC has been working on estimates, data and analysis relating to migration patterns and trends in the countries of the region for more than three decades. As researchers in the region generally acknowledge, IMILA and census data play a key role in these activities. 31. Broadly speaking, one positive lesson worth sharing is the need to complement the compilation and production of information with research work, in which CELADE Population Division of ECLAC has become prominent in the region, contributing to the generation of knowledge and proposing agreements and policies on international migration. Some activities are pursued in conjunction with IOM and receive financial support from such organizations as the United Nations Population Fund and the Ibero American Secretariat. All this has made it possible for experts from CELADE Population Division of ECLAC to take part regularly in seminars, workshops and conferences on migration in the countries of the region and even beyond. This is why international migration related activities constitute one of the main areas of endeavour within the regular programme of work (see also More specifically in relation to IMILA, there are limitations that are very difficult to surmount. Apart from gaps in census information on migration, the time lag involved in updating the database is a serious obstacle to making useful information available opportunely. Although in the future this will depend partly on when the countries make their databases from the 2010 census round available to CELADE Population Division of ECLAC, it is no less true that budget rigidities preclude precise planning of the processing of this data using the REDATAM software. Another limitation arising from financial constraints is the impossibility of creating new tabulates expressly requested by users. Such requests cannot be dealt with because of the costs involved in processing them within CELADE Population Division of ECLAC. In this regard, it will be recalled that the census databases provided by the countries can be used only in the Division. 33. A major challenge for the immediate future is the creation of new tabulates to support emerging research issues, including the analysis of responses to questions on emigration of household members and reception of remittances. A number of countries addressed these issues in the 2000 census round and many more are expected to do so in the 2010 round. 15

20 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability REFERENCES CELADE (2000), Migración Internacional en América Latina IMILA, Santiago de Chile, enero de Boletín Demográfico No. 65. Martínez, Jorge (2008), Medición e información sobre la migración internacional a partir de los censos: lecciones, desafíos y oportunidades, CELADE, Santiago de Chile (inédito). (2005), Globalizados, pero restringidos.una visión latinoamericana del mercado global de recursos humanos calificados, CEPAL, Santiago de Chile, CEPAL, serie Población y Desarrollo, 56, LC/L.2233 P. (2003a), El mapa migratorio de América Latina y el Caribe, las mujeres y el género, CEPAL, Santiago de Chile, CEPAL, serie Población y Desarrollo, 44, LC/L.1974 P. (2003b), El encanto de los datos. Sociodemografía de la inmigración en Chile según el censo de 2002, CEPAL, Santiago de Chile, serie Población y Desarrollo, 49, LC/L.2046 P. (1999), La migración internacional en los censos de población, en Notas de Población, XXVII, 69, pp Moya, O. (1993), Proyecto IMILA, CELADE, Santiago de Chile, LC/DEM/R.201, serie A 284. Pellegrino, A. y J. Martínez (2001), Una aproximación al diseño de políticas sobre la migración internacional calificada en América Latina, Santiago de Chile, CELADE, serie Población y Desarrollo, 23. United Nations (1998), Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Dep. of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, New York, Revision 1, Statistical papers, ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/67/rev.1. Villa, M. (1996), Una nota acerca del Proyecto de Investigación sobre Migración Internacional en Latinoamérica IMILA, en N. Patarra (comp.), Migrações internacionais: herança XX, agenda XXI, Campinas, Programa Interinstitucional de Avaliação e Acompanhamento das Migrações Internacionais no Brasil, v. 2. Villa, M. y J. Martínez (2000), Tendencias y patrones de la migración internacional en América Latina y el Caribe, ponencia presentada al Simposio sobre migración internacional en las Américas, en CEPAL/CELADE/FNUAP/OIM/BID (2000). Vono, Daniela (2005), Los nicaragüenses en Costa Rica: derechos, vulnerabilidad y condiciones de vida, CELADE, Santiago de Chile, inédito. 16

21 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR THE IMILA PROJECT FROM CENSUS ROUNDS Country Census rounds a/ Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia 1993 Costa Rica Cuba Ecuador El Salvador 1992 Guatemala Haiti 1971 Honduras 2001 Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Dominican Republic Uruguay Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Canada United States / / Source: IMILA project prepared by CELADE Population Division of ECLAC. a/: Information available up to first half of

22 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: Magnitude, Characteristics and ways to Improve data Comparability IMILA: standard tabulations(census rounds of 1980, 1990 and 2000) Table 1: Population born abroad, by country of birth, sex and age group. Table 2: Population born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth and marital status, by sex and age group. Table 3: Population born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth and activity status, by sex and age group. Table 4: Economically active population born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth and kind of economic activity, by sex and age group. Table 5: Non economically active population born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth, by sex and age group. Table 6: Population born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth, years of schooling approved, sex and age group. Table 7: Women born abroad aged 15 years and over, by country of birth and number of live births, by marital status and age group. Table 8: Women born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth and number of live births, surviving children and age group. Table 9: Economically active population born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth, employment status and sector of economic activity, by sex and age group. Table 10: Economically active population born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth, by employment category and branch of activity. Table 11: Holders of professional or technical qualifications and persons in related occupations born abroad aged 10 years and over, by country of birth and divisions and grouping of branches economic activity, by occupational subgroup. Table 12: Population born abroad by country of birth and period of arrival, by sex and age group. Table 13: Population born abroad aged five years and over, by country of birth and residence five years before the census, by sex and age group. Table 14: Population born abroad by country of birth and sex. 18

23 MIGRATION FROM CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN TO MEXICO: MAGNITUDE AND CHALLENGES Leticia M. Jáuregui Casanueva This room document has been prepared by Leticia M. Jáuregui Casanueva (University of California, Davis). The views expressed are those of the author and do not commit the OECD, the OAS or the national authorities concerned.

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25 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. Introduction MIGRATION FROM CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN TO MEXICO: MAGNITUDE AND CHALLENGES Leticia M. Jáuregui Casanueva 1. Mexico has traditionally been a country of emigration, with close to 10% of its total population living in the U.S. However, to a lesser extent, Mexico is also a country of transit and destination for Central and Latin American migrants, with 0.5% of its total population being foreign born (17.5% of who were born in Latin America and the Caribbean). In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, temporary or permanent movements of people are an essential characteristic of the economic, political and social histories and have been driven primarily by wage, income and living standards differentials as well as civil war and other political conflicts in the region. These migration flows are linked to the economic performance of the region as well as the changing political and policy regimes of the global economy and have resulted in inflows of remittances that complement origin countries savings and investments (Solimano 2004). 2. For most of Latin America s history, it has been a region of immigration from Europe, Asia and Africa. Only in the last two decades of the twentieth century has this pattern shifted to one of emigration to the U.S., Europe, and Mexico, and there was an increase in migration flows, especially of transit migrants (Domínguez Ávila 2006: ) to 1990 saw migration within Latin America and to North America increase from 1.5 million in 1960 to 11 million due to political instability in the region and the economic attraction of the U.S. These migrant flows to Mexico include immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, as well as some immigrants from Africa and Asia, especially China. Moreover, there has been an increase in younger immigrants (below 20 years of age) as well as women (Cruz and Rojas 2000: 138). 3. There is a lack of information and data available to fully understand the scale and nature of the migratory phenomenon of Central American, South American and Caribbean migrants to Mexico. In particular, data on undocumented migrants is derived from the numbers of people detained and deported back to their countries of origin from Mexico and is therefore incomplete. 4. On the other hand, since national and international security has become a priority on the international agenda and countries are looking for ways to diminish undocumented flows of migrants, Mexico has adopted several reforms and programs such as the Plan Sur (Southern Plan) or the Programa de Migración para la Frontera Sur (Migration Program for the Southern Border) of the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM, National Institute of Migration), to mitigate and monitor migration from Central and South America, but there is still much left to do in terms of ensuring basic human rights for immigrants and transmigrants as well as preventing government abuses and other crimes. 5. The importance of focusing on Mexico as a destination and transit country, and on the subsequent migratory flows, is due to the intermestic international and domestic nature of migration. Internationally, increasing economic inequalities and a lack of economic opportunities and development have led to human movements across borders and an increased attention given to issues related to international migration. In the Mexican and Latin American cases, migration is a structural characteristic of economic, political and social life. Nationally, a better understanding of migration patterns will also allow for a better understanding of the social, economic and demographic impact and effect that these flows have on local communities. Moreover, Mexico as a transit country faces 21

26 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. increasing international pressure to secure its borders and regulate the flow of migrants looking to go to the U.S. 6. This paper seeks to analyze recent trends and challenges Mexico is facing in light of Central and South American, as well as Caribbean, immigration. My analysis is divided into four sections. The first section describes an overview of migration trends from Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The second section analyzes geographic, historical and security issues at the Southern border of Mexico. The third and fourth sections present permanent/temporary migration to Mexico and transit migration through Mexico. A summary and conclusions follow. 1. Migration trends in Latin America, the Caribbean and Mexico Data sources of cross border population movements 7. Most data available provides estimates of the stocks, and not the flow, of migrants, and are frequently available online. Census under reporting, however, still exceeds 3% in many Latin American countries (Guzmán et al. 2006: 524). 1 One of the main sources of data about migration flows comes from population censuses available from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI, National Statistics, Geography and Informatics Institute). Additionally, statistics on the foreign born population in Mexico are provided by the INM and the Consejo Nacional de Población (CONAPO, National Population Council). These data sources are useful, but they do not allow for a detailed analysis of migrant flows and their evolution and there is still much to be done to improve the reporting and be able to compare data across countries. 8. In the 1970s, the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Center (CELADE) of the Population Division of the United Nations' Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) launched a research project entitled Investigation of International Migration in Latin America (IMILA in Spanish). The goal was to create a database of the foreign born population in Latin American countries covering country of origin, sex, age, entry period, marital status, educational attainment, economic characteristics and number of children for women. IMILA has fostered multiple studies and research on international migration and has helped identify three migration patterns: immigration from overseas, intra regional migration and extra regional migration (Martínez Pizarro and Villa 2005: 4; Santillo 2004: 2; UNESCO 2008: 15 16; Villa and Martínez Pizarro 2004: 1) Migratory records do not provide reliable data, although the Encuesta sobre Migración en la Frontera Guatemala México (EMIF GUAMEX, Survey on Migration in the Guatemala Mexico Border), first conducted in 2004, is a first step towards addressing this issue. It continually measures labour migration that crosses the border from Guatemala to Mexico on its way to the U.S. and the flows that return from the U.S. or Mexico to Guatemala, as well as those that are detained and repatriated by Mexican or American authorities. This survey highlights the demographic, household, economic and social aspects of the migrants forming the flows. 1 2 For detailed information about changes in the collection and availability of demographic data in Latin America see section II in Guzmán et al. 2006: Morales Gamboa (2008) also identifies three. Pellegrino (2003: 11) identifies four phases in the migratory process of Latin America, taking into account the pre Independence phase. 22

27 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. 10. Finally, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as well as several other international organizations provide statistics on migration flows in Mexico. This data provides useful information in terms of inflows of migrants from OECD as well as Latin American countries to Mexico. Overview of regional migration patterns 11. In 2005, more than 27 million Latin American and Caribbean migrants were estimated to be living outside their countries of origin this is equivalent to 10% of migrants worldwide (Guzmán et al. 2006:566). The main patterns of migration for Latin Americans are intra regional and extra regional migration. Intra regional migration doubled in the 1970s and then stabilized during the 1990s; it accounted for 60% of the immigrant stock in Extra regional migration, primarily from Mexico and the Caribbean, but increasingly from Central and South America, has increased significantly in the past decades; it accounted for 40% of the total stock of Latin American immigrants in 2000 (Guzmán et al. 2006: 567; UNESCO 1998: 15 16). 12. Of the more than 27 million Latin American and Caribbean migrants, 86% have migrated extraregionally (South North migration to the U.S.) and 14% have migrated intra regionally (Solimano 2008). In terms of the composition of these flows, intra regional migration presents a sustained feminization of migrant flows with a higher urban concentration of more qualified migrants. Extra regional migration was predominantly female during the 1970s and 80s but became predominantly male in the 1990s. These patterns can be explained by the complementary nature of labour markets in origin and destination countries (ECLAC 2006: 15, 19; Villa and Martínez Pizarro 2001: 11). 13. In Mexico, the INM registers documented and undocumented flows of migrants to Mexico, including local visitors, tourists, agricultural labourers, visitors, transmigrants and detained Central Americans. Between 2002 and 2004 undocumented flows increased by 56%, and were mainly composed of Guatemalan (crossing through Chiapas) and Honduran migrants (crossing through Tabasco). However, the largest inflow is composed of local visitors who use a local pass or the Forma Migratoria de Visitantes Locales (FMVL, Migratory Form for Local Visitors) that is only available in Quintana Roo and some crossing points in Chiapas. Some temporary migrant workers come into Mexico using this FMVL form since the Forma Migratoria de Visitante Agrícola (FMVA, Migratory Form for Agricultural Visitors) used in Chiapas does not cover the range of activities that temporary Central American migrant workers conduct in the Southern region of Mexico (Rodríguez Chávez in INM 2005: 3). 14. Tourists represent only 1% of the total flows and make use of the Forma Migratoria de Turista, Transmigrante, Visitante (FMTTV, Migratory Form for Tourist, Transmigrant, Visitor) utilized across the country (this number excludes visitors arriving by boat or cruise and using the Forma Migratoria para Visitantes Locales Marítimos [FMVLM, Migratory Form for Local Maritime Visitors]) (Rodríguez Chávez in INM 2005: 3). 15. Specifically, during 2005, in Mexico there were 47,600 foreign nationals, up 21% from the previous year (OECD 2008b: 29). According to CONAPO estimates, in 2000 the stock of immigrants in Mexico was 492,617, divided as follows: 5.6% from Guatemala, 1.4% from Cuba, 1.3% from Colombia, 1.3% from Argentina and 1.1% from El Salvador. 3 Table 1 includes selected characteristics of these 3 Paradoxically, 69% of immigrants are from the U.S. 23

28 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. immigrants by country of origin. Table 2 presents the immigrant population born in Latin America and the Caribbean, by country of residence and according to country of birth. 16. As we can see, the five main origin countries for immigrants from Central and South America and the Caribbean are Guatemala, Cuba, Colombia, Argentina and El Salvador. The majority of immigrants are between the ages of 15 and 49 years old and primarily female. This contrasts with extra regional flows that are primarily male (in part due to the high proportion of Mexican male migrants). In terms of their educational attainment, there is a lot of variation amongst them: Guatemalan immigrants tend to have low educational levels, while Cubans, Colombians and Argentineans tend to be highly qualified. This is reflected in the sector of employment that immigrants participate in and their employment situation. 17. Taking into account the population of 15 years and older, an OECD database using Census data (2008a: 16) reports that the total foreign born population in Mexico is 241,500 of whom 73,100 come from Latin America. This highlights the fact that the share of immigrants remains very low for Mexico at 0.5% of its total population (56). It is also important to note that 0.3% of the population has an unknown place of birth (193). 18. According to Mexican census data analysed in the OECD report, two thirds of Guatemalan immigrants and three fourths of Cuban and Argentinean immigrants are between the ages of 25 and 64 (OECD 2008a: 71). Also, the difference in shares between the tertiary educated who are foreign born (34.8%) and native born (12.8%) amounts to more than 10 percentage points. There are large differences between the educational attainment of the foreign born of Guatemala and those of Cuba and Argentina. 86% of Guatemalan immigrants living in Mexico have primary education, while half of Cubans and Argentineans have tertiary education. In the case of Mexican emigrants to the U.S., 70% have primary education (78, 85 86). 19. The employment rate of the foreign born (57.7%) is low in Mexico, but still slightly above that of the native born (57.2%). The employment rate for Guatemalans is 57.9% while that of Cubans is 67.1% and Argentineans is 71%. However, if we take into account the educational attainment of these groups, employment rates increase to 76.3% and 77.1% for Cubans and Argentineans with tertiary education respectively (OECD 2008a: 114, 119, 125). 91.6% of Guatemalan residents in Mexico are operators, mostly in agriculture and industry (68.2%). 58.9% of Argentineans and 55.6% of Cubans are professionals, mostly in personal and social services (50.1% for Argentina and 55.2% for Cuba) (144, 157). 20. In 2006, 270,000 Central American transmigrants entered Mexico, pointing to the fact that over the last two decades Mexico has become a significant country of transit. Transit migrants, though only a very small proportion, also come from South America (Ecuador and Brazil), China, Cuba and the Caribbean and Africa (IOM 2008: ). Most transit migrants from Central America travel by land to get to the U.S., crossing the Mexican border and travelling though the country without documents and highly exposed to potential threats and abuses. 24

29 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. Table 1: Selected characteristics of immigrants residing in Mexico by country of origin, 2000 Source: CONAPO estimates based on INEGI, 10% sample of the XII Censo General de Población y Vivienda,

30 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. Table 2: immigrant population born in Latin America and the Caribbean, by country of residence and according to country of birth, Source: : Database IMILA. 2000: Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC). Notes: Information not available in CELADE. * Figures from census publications. 2. The Southern border of Mexico 21. The Southern border of Mexico is multi regional by nature and can be seen as many borders; it represents the Northern border for all Central and South Americans. Men, women and children from all over Central and South America converge in this region looking for opportunities, thus defining the border as an area of destination, origin and transit of migrants. The states of Chiapas (58% of the border), Tabasco (9.9% of the border), Campeche (14.7% of the border) and Quintana Roo (17.7% of the border) form the 1,149km border with Guatemala and Belize (see Map 1). 22. According to estimates from the Centro de Estudios Migratorios (Center of Migration Studies) of the INM (Rodríguez Chávez 2008) in 2007, 914,000 foreigners crossed the Southern border of Mexico, 67% of whom were documented immigrants and 33% of whom were undocumented. Out of the documented immigrants, 54.8% were local visitors, 7.1% were tourists and other visitors, 3% were agricultural labourers and 2% were transmigrants. Out of the undocumented immigrants, 23.7% were transmigrants on their way to the U.S. and 9.3% were heading to the local border with Guatemala. 23. In terms of commercial exchanges and migratory movements, their intensity varies by area and is strongest at the Soconusco region that borders with Guatemala. The Soconusco includes the coastal region of Chiapas bordering Guatemala and separated from it by the Suchiate River. At the border with Belize, Mexico shares a singular history that, since the mid nineteenth century, has been characterized by the exploitation of forests. Even though the intensity of commercial exchanges and migratory 26

31 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. movements in this region is not as strong as in Soconusco, the area has to this day conserved its own unique social and cultural practices (Cruz and Rojas 2000: 137). The Puente Subteniente López, on the border of Quintana Roo and Belize, had close to 500,000 entries of local visitors in 2006 according to the INM (Rojas 2007). Finally, it is important to note that a large part of the eastern border of Chiapas (the Lacandona jungle) and the borders of Campeche and Tabasco are covered by dense vegetation, and the absence of roads or trails makes it very difficult to cross the border. Map 1: Crossing points at the Southern border of Mexico Source: Mandujano Security mechanisms and infrastructure were set up in the 1990s to control undocumented migration and transmigration. After 9/11 and with security issues at the top of the international agenda, Mexico implemented several programs to continue to stop unauthorized migrants from crossing the Southern border and from reaching its northern border (Castillo 2008). 25. The INM lacks sufficient material and technological infrastructure, as well as personnel, to control documented and undocumented immigrant flows along Mexico s Southern border. The permeability of the border also complicates control of these flows and the recent increase in human trafficking is a result of the presence of international crime organizations on Mexican soil. 27

32 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. Discrimination, human rights abuses, corruption and crime at the Southern border have prevailed despite government attempts. Moreover, migrants must deal with violent gangs and maras 4 along the Mexico Guatemala border and as they move north towards the U.S. All this has led to the establishment of several check points throughout the country, including San Luis Potosi and Tijuana, leading to what is sometimes referred to as Mexico s vertical border (Fernández de Castro 2008). While 50% of detentions used to take place in Chiapas, as a result of more restrictive regulations detentions are now taking place in multiple states. 26. Additionally, the absence of an adequate legal and regulatory framework and coordination between government agencies has led to inefficient border control and endangers national security. In order to solve these issues, the INM has put in place the Programa de Migración para la Frontera Sur (Southern Border Migration Program). The program will facilitate circular migration flows and ensure the protection of human rights of immigrants and the security of the region. It has already improved the documentation of legal crossings and the monitoring of undocumented flows, increased the protection of migrants' rights, expanded physical and technological infrastructure and is taking action against human trafficking and smuggling. The INM will have to overcome many challenges, but the program is a first step towards the implementation of a migratory policy at the Southern border that will contribute to the safety and development of the border areas (Rodríguez Chávez 2008; OECD 2008b: 262). 27. In conjunction with this program, Mexico's INM also designed Plan Sur, a strategy to fight human trafficking and smuggling and supervise and document border crossings so as to ensure better security at the Southern border. Also, cooperation agreements against organized crime were implemented with Central American countries and mechanisms regarding extradition were improved (OECD 2008b: 101). 28. Plan Sur contemplated an Orderly and Secure Repatriation program for undocumented migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador (Grayson 2002: 5).It is important to note that three fourths of INM s repatriates were aiming to reach the U.S. and 95% of them entered Mexico without any migratory documentation. 99% of repatriates did not work during their transit through Mexico and 94% had no previous migratory experience to Mexico. For 88% of them it was their first repatriation by Mexican authorities (Rodríguez Chávez 2008). In 2007, 76% of repatriations of Central Americans done by the INM took place in Chiapas and were as follows: 59.5% from Guatemala, 23.2% from Honduras, 16.7% from El Salvador and 0.6% from Nicaragua (Mandujano 2008). According to the INM, the number of detained and repatriated migrants increased from 215,695 in 2004 to 240,269 in 2005 but decreased to 167,437 during the first ten months of 2006 (IOM 2008: 430). 3. Mexico as a destination country 29. Immigration flows from Central America, South America and the Caribbean are heterogeneous and differ in temporality, destination and legal status. Historically there have been temporary migrant flows of individuals or families looking to settle in Mexico and its Southern border region to work in construction, the service sector or seasonal migration. 5 A special case amongst temporary migrants is that of transnational Guatemalan individuals and families who live in high density areas along the 4 5 See Shepard Durni 2008 for more on the maras or migrant hunters. The purpose of this paper is to analyze migration flows from Central and Latin America and the Caribbean, thus, previous immigration flows from Europe and other parts of the world will be left aside, and all emphasis will be made on population movements across the Southern Border. 28

33 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. border and conduct their everyday activities on both sides, many times working in Mexico in the service sector, commercial activities or as domestic labour and living in Guatemala (Castillo 2007). Another flow of more or less permanent migrants started settling in the Soconusco and other urban border centres seeking occupation and more secure conditions that those of their countries of origin (Cruz and Rojas 2000: ). 30. Also, Mexico has a long tradition as a country of asylum, the most recent case being that of Guatemalan refugees during the 1980s, but also the case of Argentinean, Uruguayan and Chilean refugees in the 1970 s, to mention only a few examples. Finally, there are some who are passing through on their way to the U.S. but end up staying in Mexico. Seasonal agricultural labourers 31. Estimates of the size of seasonal agricultural labour migration present several discrepancies. Analyzing several estimates for temporary migrant labourers in the Southern region of Mexico, Castillo (2001) finds large variations between data about migration volumes from different sources. He assumes that the total flow of temporary migrant workers, including companions or family members, cannot exceed 100,000 people per year. Mandujano (2008), on the other hand, estimates that each year 80,000 Guatemalan agricultural labourers immigrate to Chiapas between October and December. Rocha Pérez (2006) distinguishes between documented and undocumented seasonal agricultural works and estimates that close to 75,000 documented and 100,000 undocumented immigrate each year from nearby countries such as Guatemala, Nicaragua or El Salvador. Temporary Guatemalan agricultural labourers have been satisfying labour demand since the end of the nineteenth century and have consolidated a circular migration pattern in the Soconusco region (Cruz and Rojas 2000: 137). Guatemalan agricultural labour migration is useful to Soconusco producers and constitutes a survival mechanism for families in western Guatemala (140). 32. A subdivision of this group is composed of documented migrants that receive a temporary permit from Mexican authorities to work in the agricultural sector of Chiapas, mostly in coffee plantations, but also in sugar cane plantations, banana packing plants and to a lesser degree with corn and other fruit. Traditional permits are usually processed by contractors and intermediaries and are granted for a period of 30 to 60 days during which the migrant can remain on Mexican soil along with his or her companion. Additionally, the INM developed a new documentation program for agricultural labourers that awards a Forma Migratoria para Visitantes Agrícolas Guatemaltecos (FMVA, Migratory Form for Visiting Guatemalan Agriculturers) with a one year duration to expedite the process, improve worker identification and, especially, diminish the dependency and control that the contractors and intermediaries had over the temporary workers (Cruz and Rojas 2000: 140). In 76% of the cases, a contractor processes the documents, in 16% of the cases the employer processes it and in a very small number of cases the actual labourer does it (143). 33. The informality in hiring undocumented labourers and the lack of government regulations often lead to all kinds of abuses and rights violations. The Southern border is a vulnerable area, subject to corruption and abuse from gangs and police authorities alike. Contractors and hirers are often also in violation of labour and human rights of migrants, leaving them vulnerable and in need of better protection and monitoring. 29

34 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. Refugees 34. During the first half of the 1980s, in particular between 1981 and 1983, several waves of Guatemalan refugees came to Mexico seeking protection and asylum. Some 46,000 refugees entered Mexico and were settled in close to 100 camps in Chiapas. In 1984, 25% of the refugees were moved to Campeche and 20% to Quintana Roo (Castillo 2001). 35. The Guatemalan regime changed in 1986, and in 1987 the refugees promoted an organized return process under "safe and dignified" conditions. Refugees organized into Comisiones Permanentes de Refugiados (CCPP, Permanent Commissions of Refugees) and pushed for a "voluntary, collective and organized" return process. In 1992, non recognized refugees organized the Asociación de Refugiados Dispersos de Guatemala (ARDIGUA, Association of Dispersed Refugees of Guatemala) and put forth similar demands and joined the negotiations. Negotiations concluded in 1992 and the return process began in 1993, extending for six years until Between 1984 and 1999, 42,737 voluntary repatriations took place. The demographic behaviour of this group of Guatemalan refugees was characterized by high birth rates which, coupled with low mortality rates and voluntary repatriations throughout the period meant that, according to official registries, the refugee population remained constant until In the early 2000s, 24,763 former refugees still remained, less than a third of which were actually Guatemala nationals, since more than half were Mexicans by birth and others were naturalized citizens (Castillo 2001). In addition to this, during , 15,000 Central American migrants benefited from a large regularization program implemented by Mexico (IOM 2008: 514). 4. Mexico as a transit country 36. In parallel to the Central American armed conflicts of the 1980s, a new wave of migrants from all over Central and South America emerged and it was mainly composed of undocumented migrants who, for the most part, were trying to cross the Mexican border and continue north to the U.S. The majority of these undocumented migrants come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. This flow is the result not only of the armed conflicts, but also of acute inequality within and across countries and it increased substantially throughout the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century (Cruz and Rojas 2003: 4), transforming Mexico into a high transit country as well. 37. Transit migration flows have become more pronounced since the 1990s despite Mexican government efforts to curb undocumented migration at the Southern border. Mexico has become the major country of origin and transit for undocumented migration to the U.S. with flows of over 450,000 a year. 38. As I mentioned before, in 2006, over 270,000 Central Americans entered Mexico in transit to the U.S.; some 216,000 were detained and deported to their countries of origin. Transit migrants, though in a very small proportion, also come from Ecuador, Brazil and other South American countries; China; Cuba and other Caribbean nations; and Africa (IOM 2008: ). 39. Security conditions are extremely poor for transit migrants, who often face dangerous physical conditions when crossing the border and are additionally faced with abuse and are subject to organized crime (extortion, rape and slavery amongst others) at the hands of corrupt authorities and gangs. As a result of both stricter migration policies in the U.S. and increasing pressure to control undocumented transit migration within Mexico, Mexican authorities now widely enforce control, detention and repatriation of undocumented migrants on Mexican soil. Nevertheless, this reinforcement of migratory 30

35 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. policies was accompanied by an increase in human rights violations of migrants by several actors. And it has become increasingly clear that, as border control increases, the complexity and potential for conflict will increase as well (Cruz y Rojas 2003: 6). Concluding remarks 40. Migration dynamics at the Southern border highlight the wage differentials both between Mexico and the U.S. and between Central America and Mexico. As a result, migrants from Chiapas leave for the U.S., where they earn eight to ten times what they would earn in Mexico, thus pushing up the demand for labour in the Southern states, where Central Americans earn two to three times what they would earn in their countries of origin. And while on the one hand these flows allow migrants to have employment opportunities and a higher income, on the other they are faced with abuse and discrimination. 41. Governments need to act, work with each other and stop abuses, exploitation and rising crime against migrants. Attention needs to be given to the injustices increasingly committed at the border and to the rights of the invisible migrants. It is also important that indigenous populations be protected as well while policing and control increase. In Chiapas, migrants were attacked in 47.5% of the cases by a criminal, in 15.2% of the cases by migration agents, and in 15.2% of the cases by local public security police (Shepard Durni 2008). These crimes are not exclusive to criminals and gang members and they take place on both sides of the border pointing towards the need for improved prevention mechanisms. 42. Mexico's policies towards its Southern border seek to be consistent with what Mexico expects and has known to be the U.S. policies towards its own southern border. These policies, which mirror U.S. border security, therefore focus on the development and security needs of the Southern border. This is done through enhanced international cooperation and the establishment of repatriation programs (OECD 2008b: 262). Nevertheless, specific conditions should also be heeded, taking into account the existing local social and economic dynamics that are specific to Mexico s Southern border, seeking to establish multilateral agreements and migratory mechanisms of true cooperation between Mexico and its two southern neighbours (and even its northern neighbour). In today s globalized world, the adoption of unilateral policies is insufficient and the Plan Puebla Panama and the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM, formerly known as Grupo de Puebla) have established the basis for positive cooperation between Mexico and other Central American countries, including the participation of civil society and other international and non governmental organizations (Grayson 2002: 6; Mohar 2001). 43. The experiences, trends and challenges described in this paper highlight the importance of having accurate data and broad knowledge about the migration phenomenon so as to be able to develop and promote appropriate legislation and policies that not only monitor and control migration flows, but also protect migrants human rights. Joint and coordinated research should be promoted as a way to better understand Latin American, Central American and Caribbean immigration into Mexico. 31

36 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anguiano Téllez, María Eugenia "Flujos Migratorios en la Frontera Sur de México." Presented in Seminario Inmigración centroamericana en la frontera sur de México: Desafíos y oportunidades. Tapachula, Chiapas. Castillo, Manuel Ángel "Las políticas hacia la migración centroamericana en países de origen, destino y de tránsito." Papeles de Población April June "Los flujos migratorios en la frontera sur de México." Les Cahiers ALHIM. Amérique Latine: Histoire et Mémoire "Los desafíos de la emigración centroamericana en el Siglo XXI." Les Cahiers ALHIM. Amérique Latine: Histoire et Mémoire "Mexico: Caught between the United States and Central America." in Migration Information Source. December 28, 2008: "Panorama general de la migración en la frontera sur de México." Presented in Seminario Internacional Autoempleo, Programas Sociales y Migración a Estados Unidos. Propuestas para Políticas Públicas. December. CONAPO "Dinámica reciente de las migraciones en América." Boletín 18, Año "Flujos Migratorios EMIF GUAMEX." Cruz, Hugo Ángeles, and Martha Luz Rojas Weisner "Migración femenina internacional en la frontera sur de México." Papeles de Población January March "Migración en la frontera sur de México." Memoria de la Revista Mensual de Política 168. Domínguez Ávila, Carlos Federico "Migración, globalización y relaciones internacionales: En busca de nuevas interpretaciones fundamentadas en evidencias latinoamericanas recientes." in Los nuevos escenarios de la migración: Causas, condiciones, consecuencias, coordinated by María Ileana García Gossio. México D.F.: Fundación Heinrich Böll. ECLAC "Migración internacional." Latin America and the Caribbean Demographic Observatory 1 (1). Montevideo, Uruguay: ECLAC. Fernández de Castro, Rafael "Frontera sur: primeros pasos." in Excelsior. Mexico D.F. Grayson, George W "Mexico's forgotten southern border: Does Mexico practice at home what it preaches abroad?" Backgrounder. Washington D.C.: Center for Immigration Studies. Guzmán, José Miguel, Jorge Rodríguez, Jorge Martínez, Juan Manuel Contreras, and Daniela González "The demography of Latin America and the Caribbean since 1950." Population

37 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. Instituto Nacional de Migración Primer foro hacia una política migratoria integral en la frontera sur de México. Tapachula, Chiapas. International Organization for Migration "World Migration 2008: Managing Labour Mobility in the Evolving Global Economy." IOM World Migration Report. Geneva: International Organization for Migration. Mandujano, Raúl Ángel Untitled presentation in the Seminario Inmigración centroamericana en la frontera sur de México: Desafíos y oportunidades. Tapachula, Chiapas. Martínez Pizarro, Jorge and Miguel Villa "International migration in Latin America and the Caribbean: A summary view of trends and patterns." United Nations Expert Group Meeting on International Migration and Development. Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN Secretariat. Mohar, Gustavo "Reflexiones sobre el Grupo de Puebla: En busca de un diálogo pendiente." Santiago, Chile: ECLAC. Morales Gamboa, Abelardo "Centroamérica: Los territorios de la migración y la exclusión en el nuevo siglo." Foreign Affairs en Español April June. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2008a. "A Profile of Immigrant Populations in the 21st Century: Data from OECD Countries 2008." Paris b. "International Migration Outlook: Annual Report." Paris. Pellegrino, Adela "Skilled labor migration from developing countries: Study on Argentina and Uruguay." in International Migration Papers, edited by International Labor Office. Geneva "La migración internacional en América Latina y el Caribe: Tendencias y perfiles de los migrantes." Población y Desarrollo "La migración calificada en América Latina." Foreign Affairs en Español Abril Junio. Rocha Pérez, Rodrigo "Aproximación a las migraciones femeninas internacionales al interior de Latinoamérica: Algunos casos en México y Chile." Revista de Estudios Históricos 3. Rodríguez Chávez, Ernesto "Frontera sur y política migratoria en México." Foreign Affairs en Español October December "La migración en la frontera sur de México: Opciones posibles." in Seminario Inmigración centroamericana en la frontera sur de México: Desafíos y oportunidades. Tapachula, Chiapas. Rodríguez Chávez, Ernesto, Martín Iñiguez, Jesús Gijón Ramírez, and Roselí Venegas "Dossier: Flujo de entradas de extranjeros por la frontera sur terrestre de México registradas por el Instituto Nacional de Migración 2007." INM Centro de Estudios Migratorios. 33

38 Round Table: Recent Trends in Labour Migration in the Americas: magnitude, characteristics and ways to improve data comparability. Rojas Weisner, Martha Luz "Mujeres y migración en la frontera sur de México." Les Cahiers ALHIM. Amérique Latine: Histoire et Mémoire 14. Santillo, Mario "Balance de las migraciones actuales en América Latina." Buenos Aires: Centro de Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos. Solimano, Andres "Globalization, history and international migration: A view from Latin America." Working Paper 37. Geneva: World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, International Labor Office "Migraciones internacionales en América Latina y el Caribe: oportunidades, desafíos y dilemas." Foreign Affairs en Español April June. UNESCO "Final Report." Regional Seminar on Globalization and international migration in Latin America and the Caribbean: Trends and prospects for the 21st Century. Santiago, Chile: Migration Studies Network for Latin America and the Caribbean (REMIALC). Villa, Miguel, and Jorge Martínez Pizarro "El mapa migratorio internacional de América Latina y el Caribe: patrones, perfiles, repercusiones e incertidumbres." Santiago, Chile: ECLAC "Tendencias y patrones de la migración internacional en América Latina y el Caribe." in The Communication Initiative Network. February 2, 2009: 34

39 ROUND TABLE: LABOUR MIGRATION FROM THE AMERICAS TO OECD COUNTRIES: MAGNITUDE AND CHALLENGES

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41 BRAZILIANS IN THE OECD COUNTRIES AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA Dr. Masato Ninomiya This room document has been prepared by Dr. Masato Ninomiya (São Paulo University, Brazil). The views expressed are those of the author and do not commit the OECD, the OAS or the national authorities concerned.

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43 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 1. Historical background BRAZILIANS IN THE OECD COUNTRIES AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA Dr. Masato Ninomiya 1. Since its independence from Portugal in 1822, Brazil began to accept immigrants from abroad in order to inhabit and settle the huge and then unexploited country. There were some changes in the legislation, but immigration policy continued for more than 150 years. In 1980, however, there was a complete change in its policy, and Brazil ceased to accept non skilled foreigners as immigrants. The economic recession faced by the country and consequent unemployment of many nationals were the main reason for enactment of a new law that year, the Estatuto de Estrangeiros, which is still in force. Only people who invest capital in the country or are highly skilled can obtain a permanent visa for immigration. There was no problem for foreigners who have family ties with Brazilians through marriage or have children born in Brazil. 2. The economic situation became worse during the eighties, caused by declaration of a moratorium on payment of foreign debts in 1982, and because of hyperinflation that reached an annual rate of 2,500 % in the early nineties. The Brazilian government tried to restrain inflation through heterodox measures for four times in different governments, including the so called Plano Collor in 1990, which has also failed. Only in 1994, the Plano Real succeeded. During the eighties, however, many Brazilians with economic problems, or concerned over the dangerous public security situation, decided to go abroad, mainly to the U.S., Europe and Japan to try new lives in these developed countries. 3. This flow of Brazilians to abroad continued for more than 20 years, and according to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter called as MRE BR), more than three million Brazilians live in 112 different countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Middle East and Africa. There are 22 countries with more than 10,000 Brazilians. Among them, 15 are OECD countries 1 and 6 are South American countries This was the situation, however, until mid 2007, when we began to face a world wide economic crisis triggered by the sub prime loan collapse in the U.S., which brought many other consequences that quickly expanded to almost all countries in the world. Many Brazilians are facing unemployment in Japan, U.S. and Europe and it has been very hard to face this situation for them, 1 2 Among the OECD 30 countries belonging, there are no Brazilians living in Iceland and Slovak Republic. There are more than 10,000 living in the U.S.(1,240,000), Japan (317,000), UK (150,000), Portugal (147,500), Italy (132,000), Spain (110,000), Switzerland (55,000), Germany (46,200), Belgium (43,600), France (30,000), Canada (21,000), Mexico (18,000), Ireland (17,000), Netherland (16,400), Australia (12,000), New Zealand (5,250), Sweden (5,000), Greece (4,750), Denmark (2,500), Norway (2,160), Poland (1,500), Austria (1,400), Finland (510), Republic of Korea (350), Turkey (275), Hungary (200), Czech Republic (135). According to the Consular Estimates of Brazilians in the World, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (MRE BR), July 2008, cited by Sasaki Pinheiro, Elisa Massae, Ser ou Não Ser Japonês? A Construção da Identidade dos Brasileiros Descendentes de Japoneses no Contexto das Migrações Internacionais do Japão Contemporâneo, Doctoral dissertation presented to Universidade de Campinas, Brasil. Anexos, p There are Brazilians living in all South American countries but there are more than 10,000 living in Paraguay (490,000), Argentina (39,000), French Guiana (20,000), Uruguay (19,000), Bolivia (15,000), Venezuela (12,000). Apud, Sasaki Pinheiro, id., ibid. 39

44 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges especially in the Winter, because lay offs are often linked to loss of housing. Thus, the numbers presented in this paper were produced before Fall 2008 and it is supposed there are substantive changes in the situation during the last six months. 2. Brazilians in OECD countries 5. Considering that there are difficulties to make an approach to the situation of Brazilians in every one of the 15 OECD countries more than 10,000 Brazilians live some countries were chosen to make a brief report. The first was the U. S. for having a huge number of Brazilians. The second country in number is Japan and the third is U.K. After these, we will take the cases of Portugal, Italy and Spain for having more than 100,000 Brazilians Brazilians in U. S. 6. Most Brazilians abroad are in North America, which represents about 42% of total Brazilians abroad. The U.S. has more than 99%, with 1,240,000 Brazilians living, mainly in Massachusetts, New York, Florida and California. In Canada, there are about 20,000 Brazilians, which represent about 0.7% of total. 7. A matter of the biggest concern, about the presence of Brazilians in the U.S., is the problem of their illegal situation, vis à vis very strict immigration law. There is research affirming that the number of illegal Brazilians in the country may reach 1.1 million 3, which means that almost 90% of them are in this situation. 8. Another important matter for Brazilians, mainly for families left in Brazil, is remittances from the U.S. Some opinions hold that in comparison with other countries which depend on the remittances of their nationals from abroad to help their balance of payments, the remittance of Brazilians abroad is not essential for the Brazilian economy vis à vis its GDP of more than US$ 1 trillion, and monetary reserve of US$ 200 billion. However, in the context of remittances, the remittances from the U. S. are a very important matter, since they represent 75% of total US$ 7.3 billion sent by Brazilians living abroad. In the cities where big numbers of citizens are living in the U.S., such as Governador Valadares, in Minas Gerais state, there was a strong boom of real estate with remittances, and it will be affected when unemployment hits these people. Other 15% comes from other countries in Europe and the rest from Japan 4, which will also be affected by economical situation. 9. There has been considerable improvement in the Brazilian economy during the last five years, and the U.S. is facing a crisis which began with sub prime loans and quickly affected the stock market. Also, we have to take into account the crisis with the automobile industries commencing with the socalled Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler). Electric and electronic industries were also affected. It is very risky to predict anything before the economic policy of new U.S. President enters into effect, but the truth is that the crisis affected both the U.S. and all countries which have trade relations with them. 3 4 SALES, Teresa. Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos. In: Textos Academicos, v. l Brasileiros no Mundo, p Paper presented at I Conferencia sobre as Comunidades Brasileiras no Exterior, held at Palacio Itamaraty in Rio de Janeiro, on July 17 and 18, According to Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico, dated April 14, 2008, apud Sales, Tereza, the remittances diminished to US$ 7.07 billion in 2007, because of the U.S. economic crisis and recovery of Brazilian economy. 40

45 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Without export to the U.S., many industries in every country have to diminish production and consequently lay off workers. 10. There are opinions saying that a considerable number of Brazilians might soon come back home, based on the fact that many of them work in the construction sector, and this was the most affected segment by this crisis 5. Although this crisis has not yet directly struck Brazil, or there are optimistic opinions that Brazil can easily overcome the situation, the reality is that, soon or later, the country will be affected by this world wide crisis. Unemployment in Brazil is at the level of about 8.5% and the labour market will have difficulties in absorbing these people coming back, not only from the U.S., but also from Japan and other European and South American countries, unless they bring some initial capital to begin small businesses. 11. There is information that many Brazilians are trying to legalize their immigration status in the U.S., and signs of evident integration of the first generation can be seen through an organized community and that the second generation of young immigrants will fix through socialization in the schools Brazilians in Japan 12. There is a community of about 1.5 million people of Japanese ancestry living in Brazil, thanks to Japanese immigration to this country which began a century ago, and it is considered to be the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan. 13. The reason Brazilians went to work in Japan is the same as the one which took people to go to U.S., the economic crisis, and there was a huge shortage of unskilled labour in Japan in the mid eighties. 14. Japanese Immigration Law is even more strict than the U.S. one, in the sense that only highly qualified people can obtain a work permit and there is no possibility, in principle, for non qualified foreigners to work in this country. Until 1985, there were only 2,000 Brazilians living in Japan and all visas issued by seven Consulates Generals of Japan in Brazil totalled 5,000 cases per year, until In 1988, however, the number jumped to 8,600 and, in 1989, to 18,300. In 1990, the Japanese government decided to change its Immigration Law and created a new status of entrance called Long Term Residents, given to the children and grandchildren of Japanese who were born in countries adopting jus soli, i.e., countries giving their nationalities to children of foreigners born in their territories. This status was extended also for people of non Japanese ancestry, if married to one of Japanese descent, until the third generation. In 1990, there were 48,100 Brazilians living in Japan. This number increased every year, with the exception of 1998, when the Japanese economy was in a difficult situation 7. The official number at the end of 2007 was 317,000 Brazilians living in Japan. 15. The presence of Brazilians in Japan can be seen in all 47 prefectures, but there are about 10 prefectures with more than 10,000 people. There are prefectures such as Chiba and Kanagawa surrounding the capital city Tokyo and Ibaraki, Gunma, Tochigi and Nagano in the northern part of the Idem, dated December 11, 2007, idem, SALES, Tereza, p Sales, Tereza, op. cit., p NINOMIYA, Masato and TANAKA, Aurea Christine. Brazilian Workers in Japan. University of Tokyo Journal of Law and Politics, vol. 1, Spring 2004, pp. 121 et seq. 41

46 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges so called Kanto area. Another area with big concentration of Brazilians is Tokai, with prefectures like Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Gifu and Shiga. Inside these prefectures, there are 26 cities and towns with concentration of Brazilians. The most numerous is Hamamatsu City, in Shizuoka Prefecture with more than 20,000 but in the town of Oizumi, in Gunma Prefecture, with total population of 40,000, foreigners are more than 17% of the population, including 10% Brazilians. Many of them are working in the automobile related industries, but there is also a number of people working in electrical and electronic industries. In the bubble crisis of , a certain number of Brazilians went to jobs other than manufacture industries. Since the beginning of the so called Dekasegi 8 phenomenon, referring to the Brazilians who went to work in Japan, there have been a number of problems that remain unsolved. 16. First, they were recruited saying that they were going to work in the factories of well known enterprises, but the reality was that they were only part timers or employees of the enterprises, the empreiteiras that supply workers according to the convenience of big industries. The problem is again under the focus, in this moment of economical crisis, when this type of workers, Japanese or foreigner, are first to be fired. 17. Second, another question refers to Social Security. Japanese law obliges enterprises with more than 5 employees to join the Shakai Hoken, Social Security, which is a combined medical care and pension system. Nobody discusses the validity of joining the medical care system, for no one knows what can happen tomorrow. But many Brazilians started working based on the point of view that they are in Japan only on a temporary basis, probably 3 or 5 years, and Social Security has to be paid for 20 years and benefits allocated starting at age 60. The fact that Brazilians did not want to join Social Security brought benefit to the employers who did not have to pay their part. 18. The problem arose because many people are staying in Japan not for 5 years, but for 10, 15 or even 20 years. They are becoming old and without any pension in Japan or in Brazil. After trying a number of bureaucratic initiatives, the solution found was political. In May 2005, when Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made an official visit to Japan, he made a proposal to then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to discuss the matter on a bilateral governmental basis and try to reach an agreement about pensions. Since then, government negotiations were held three times in both countries and the fourth discussion is foreseen in the beginning of next June. We can, therefore, predict this agreement by the end of year or in early Third, the problem of capital importance about Brazilians living in Japan is related to education of their children. Although Japanese Constitution obliges Japanese nationals to send their children to schools, it is not considered compulsory for foreigners. If they want to study in Japanese public schools, then, they will accept them. There are about 40,000 Brazilian children and teen agers, and about 30,000 are in the school age. It is said that about 7,000 are in Brazilian schools. There are no exact figures of children in Japanese schools. The Ministry of Education and Science says only that there are about 8,000 children with Portuguese as mother tongue that have no knowledge of Japanese language and, then, they need to be helped. It is estimated that there are about 18,000 Brazilian children in Japanese 8 Dekasegi is a word in Japanese which means somebody going out of his place to work. It used to happen in the rural area of Japan in Winter, when peasants used to go to cities to work in the nonskilled jobs to get some extra cash. It has somehow a sad and dark image of an era of poverty in Japan until the sixties, and depending on the case, there is a discriminatory sound. In Portuguese, however, it seems that the word had been adopted, since two major dictionaries in Brazil, the Aurelio and the Houaiss have adopted the word with the meaning of Brazilians who go to work in Japan. 42

47 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges schools, of which 8,000 need assistance in the Japanese language. There are extra teachers sent to schools with a certain number of Brazilians, in order to conduct the so called international classes with extra Japanese language classes. The situation was worse in the past, since, at the beginning of the Dekasegi phenomenon, cases of discrimination against Brazilian children were reported The Brazilian schools in Japan naturally emerged from a necessity of Brazilian children who did not adapt themselves in Japanese schools. When the children begin studying at first or second grade of primary school, it is not difficult for them to adapt in Japanese schools, even if they have little knowledge of Japanese. Their Japanese colleagues are also beginning to learn and it is easy to be integrated. But when children are brought to Japan at age of more or less 10 years old, then they are put automatically in 3 rd or 4 th grade classes, and, then, they can not understand what is going on in the class. Quickly they lose interest in attending classes and soon they do not go to school any more. Since the law does not oblige foreigners to go to schools, parents have no legal responsibility to do it. Some parents with these children, then, try to put them in Brazilian schools. Even some parents, who plan to return to Brazil soon, also put the children to study in Brazilian schools. There are about 85 Brazilian schools in all Japan and among them, about 50 have been recognized by the Brazilian government and about 30 recognized by the Japanese government. 21. The economic crisis also hits the Brazilian schools in Japan. It is reported that about 3,000 students have cancelled their registration, as soon as their parents lost jobs. Since the monthly fee of these schools is about US$ , it seems that the first thing parents did when they were fired, was to cancel the registration of their children in Brazilian schools. We think most of these children will come back to Brazil in order to continue studying but there is also a number of people who will stay in Japan. We will only know about the approximate figure after the beginning of school terms in Brazil and in Japan, respectively on February 1 and April Finally, there are the criminal aspects involving Brazilians in Japan since they are contesting the second place with Filipinos and Vietnamese. The Chinese come first. However, in the matter of delinquency, Brazilian teen agers are in the top of ranking. 23. Another matter of concern among authorities of both countries is the case of Brazilians committing crimes and after that, immediately escaping to Brazil. It is said there are almost 100 fugitive cases and the Brazilian government, by request of Japanese government, recently began to pursue and punish these nationals in the country, since the Brazilian Constitution prohibits extradition of nationals Until the end of the 20 th Century, there were no cases of foreign children studying in Japanese schools, and Brazilian nikkei children, or mix blood children, who could not speak or understand Japanese language, or had non Japanese habits were many times discriminated. There were also discriminations against adults as we can see in the so called Ana Borz case, a Shizuoka District Court sentence of 2003, in which a Japanese owner of a jewelery shop who ordered Ana Borz to leave his shop, when he realized she was a Brazilian, was ordered to pay a fine. It was a first Japanese judicial sentence condemning somebody with direct application of UN Convention Against All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ratified by Japan but still not adopted as internal legislation. NINOMIYA, Masato and TANAKA, Aurea Christine. Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between Brazil and Japan. University of Tokyo Journal of Law and Politics, vol. 4, Spring 2007, pp. 65 et seq. 43

48 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 2.3. Brazilians in the U. K. 24. Similarly to the aforementioned cases, economic reasons took about 150,000 Brazilians to the U.K. Initially, they were attracted by the strong Pound, and also the immigration difficulties in other countries, mainly in the U.S., besides discrimination suffered in other countries like Portugal and Spain. Despite the entrance to the U.K. of the nationals from East European countries, the Brazilian workers satisfy the needs of local market for their dedication, efficiency, efficacy and hygiene 11. On the other hand, the death in a subway station, in 2005, of young Jean Charles de Menezes, suspect of being a terrorist by London police officers, shocked Brazilian society. Nevertheless, it did not prevent the continuous flow of Brazilians to the U.K. 25. Although a fall in the qualification of Brazilian workers has been noted recently, the school education level was high until % of Brazilians had completed High School education and 36% continued their studies afterwards 12. It is important to consider that most Brazilians stay in London longer than an initially foreseen period of 2 years. 26. The main troubles faced by Brazilians are the lack of documentation, language barrier, informal jobs, integration problems not only with British but also with their own countrypersons. Additionally, another serious problem is that newcomers are victims of lack of information. In order to solve this problem, a variety of monthly and weekly publications among the Brazilian community naturally emerged. In this connection, there is an organization located in London called ABRAS Associação Brasileira no Reino Unido, founded in 2006, counting more than 2,000 associates. The main objective of this association is to render orientation services to the community and to those who intend to migrate to U. K Brazilians in Portugal 27. As in other countries, except Japan, there is a discrepancy in the figures for Brazilians in Portugal, due to the presence of illegal stays. The official number provided by the Portuguese authorities 14 revealing the presence of about 65,000 Brazilians in that country, compares with the MRE figures (147,500), practically more than double. 28. An important point to be emphasized, as regards the Brazilians, is the characteristics they possess such as their professional skills and occupation in areas which demand technical knowledge. In this group it is possible to mention, among others, physicians, dentists, advertising agents and system analysts. These IT professionals were attracted by jobs created when Portugal was admitted to EU. 29. There were two distinct stages in the immigration process. The first one took place from 1980 through mid 1990, having, as majority, immigrants from the upper middle class who possessed high skill MELLINGER, Carlos. Relatório sobre Comunidade Brasileira no Reino Unido. In: Brasileiros no Mundo, I Conferência sobre as Comunidades Brasileiras no Exterior, 2008, Textos de Apoio, pp. 209 et seq. FERNANDES, Durval Magalhães and RIGOTTI, José Irineu Rangel. Os Brasileiros na Europa: Notas Introdutórias. Idem, Brasileiros no Mundo, Textos Acadêmicos, vol. 1, p MELLINGER, Carlos. Id., ibid. Relatório do Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras SEF, apud FERNANDES, Durval Magalhães and RIGOTTI, José Irineu Rangel, op. cit., p

49 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges professional training and occupying jobs which demanded technical knowledge. On the other hand, the second wave of immigrants was formed by people of lower middle class, who looked for jobs in informal economy, domestic service, commerce and restaurants. One point to draw out is that the qualification of Brazilian immigrants is, on average, superior to that of the Portuguese Another aspect to be mentioned is the discrimination against Brazilian women, who are unfortunately regarded by most of Portuguese as comfort women. 31. Finally, as regards the future, it must be considered some aspects which contribute to discontinue the flow of Brazilian immigrants into Portugal: the growth of the EU, which impacts the increase of jobs in an irregular situation; the salary differences relative to neighbouring countries such as Spain; and also the increase in restrictions against Brazilians entering European countries. In this respect, in 2006, a significant number of 1,749 Brazilians were refused entrance into Portugal, corresponding to 48.6 % of the total of refusals Brazilians in Italy 32. Immigration of Brazilians to Italy presents several aspects different from those observed in other European countries, due to the relations which this country maintained in the past, not only with Brazil, but also with other countries where Italians had emigrated. As a matter of fact, Italy is the only European country which allows acquisition of nationality by great grand children of Italian immigrants, based upon the principle of jus sanguinis 16. Notwithstanding Italy became a destination country after other European countries, its vicinity to Eastern European countries made the labour market more restricted. On the other hand, the greater facility in obtaining Italian passports for descendants has attracted a lot of Brazilians. 33. There are discrepancies in the figures on the number of Brazilians living in Italy. According to Consular Estimates of Brazilians in the World, of MRE BR, of July 2008, the number of Brazilians in Italy was 132, In contrast, data from the Brazilian Electoral High Court, the number of Brazilians in Italy is about 120, On the other hand, following the registers of Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT) 19, there were only 32,416 Brazilians living in Italy, in January These figures show that there is a considerable number of Brazilians regarded as Italians by its government, using Italian passports. They are considered, however, Brazilians by the Brazilian government FERNANDES, Duval Magalhães and RIGOTTI, José Irineu Rangel, op. cit., pp FERNANDES, Duval Magalhães and RIGOTTI, José Irineu Rangel, op. cit., p SASAKI PINHEIRO, Elisa Massae, op. cit., p According to the site of Brazilian Electoral High Court, available at accessed on March 10, 2009, at 10:45 PM. Apud FERNANDES, Duval Magalhães and RIGOTTI, José Irineu Rangel, id., ibid. 45

50 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 34. According to Rodrigo Lima, Vice Consul of Brazil in Italy, the Brazilian community in that country is formed mainly by women (2/3 of total). Most of them have lower education level and, because they are married to Italians, stay away from social relations with their countrypersons Brazilians in Spain 35. As in Portugal, the Spanish authorities also imposed restrictions to the entrance of Brazilians. According to Celso Amorim, Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, his government took immediate reciprocity measures against discrimination of Brazilians in admission to certain countries, including Spain 21. As a consequence, the Brazilian authorities also refused the entrance of nationals from these countries into Brazil. 36. As to the insertion of about 110,000 Brazilian immigrants in the Spanish labor market, 86% of them are employees in regular situation with signed contracts. The service sector absorbed 8% of the employed workers followed by civil construction sector with 13% and the industry with 5% Among the immigrants living in Spain, totalling 4.5 million foreigners, there are Moroccans, Romanians and Latin Americans (Peruvians, Ecuadorians, Colombians, Bolivians). Nevertheless, Brazilians represent the group which had the largest growth: 34.2% between , and 25.2% between It is important to note that women represented in 2007, 60.2% of the Brazilian residents in Spain. 39. The accomplishment of the plans, which justify migration, changes according to the time of stay. Initially, migrants wanted to build their own houses in Brazil and eventually to open a small business. On the other hand, in case they get authorization for the residence in Spain, they will endeavour to acquire real estate and, possibly in the future, will also succeed in obtaining the Spanish nationality. However, return to Brazil is considered only for vacations and, when retiring, a place to live. 40. As regards the profile, Brazilians in Spain have a higher level of education than those resident in Portugal Brazilians in South America 41. The presence of Brazilians is very important in the countries with which Brazil has borders 24, except Chile and Ecuador, especially in the orbit of MERCOSUR, Common Market of South, constituted See note 18. AMORIM, Celso, Jornal da Camara, June 18, Data from Spanish Ministry of Labor cited by RIPOLL, Érika M., Espanha na Dinâmica das Migrações Internacionais: Um Breve Panorama da Situação dos Imigrantes Brasileiros na Espanha, XV Encontro Nacional de Estudos Populacionais ABEP, Caxambu, 2006, apud FERNANDES, Duval Magalhães and RIGOTTI, José Irineu Rangel, op. cit., pp TÉCHIO, Kachia,. Imigrantes Brasileiros Não Documentados: Uma Análise Comparativa entre Lisboa e Madri, Socius Working Papers, n. 1, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, 2006, apud FERNANDES, Duval Magalhães and RIGOTTI, José Irineu Rangel, op. cit., p

51 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges by Argentina (with 38,500 Brazilians living), Brazil, Paraguay (with 487,517 Brazilians living) and Uruguay (with 18,848 Brazilians living). It was created by the Asuncion Treaty in 1991, aiming to strengthen the trade related links among the member countries. It is still in the process of forming of Customs Union and still long way ahead to become a Common Market, similarly to EU. 42. Additionally, considering the final objective of MERCOSUR as being an area of free circulation of goods, services and people among member countries, Paraguay became a special presence as regards the circulation of Brazilians in the both side of border. Consequently it emerged the so called brasiguaios, who are Brazilians living in Paraguay or Brazilian workers who go to Paraguay in search of jobs, many times clandestine. As a matter of fact, more than half of foreigners resident in the country are Brazilians and represents almost 60% of Brazilians living in Latin American countries. 43. There are 487,517 Brazilians living in Paraguay, which is 16.01% of the total abroad. 44. Until 1960 s, few Brazilians were living in Paraguay. However, in the 1970 s, the Itaipu hydroelectric plant was constructed at the border of the two countries and Brazilian peasants, whose were properties inundated by water from dam, did not receive enough compensation to buy new land on the Brazilian side. Therefore, they opted to go to neighbouring Paraguay where land was eight times cheaper. This was possible because in 1967, the Paraguayan government allowed the acquisition of land by foreigners, in a range of less than 150 km from its borders. 45. At this time, the process of huge mechanization of production of soybeans began on the Brazilian side. That was a reason that Brazilian peasants went to Paraguay looking for cheaper lands. The presence of brasiguaios, in spite of bringing economic boom to the region, provoked nationalist and xenophobic feelings among Paraguayans. There is a concern of Paraguayans about the weakness of their nationality identity in the border region. Brasiguaios keep speaking Portuguese, use Brazilian currency and own the most productive land. Their children speak Portuguese as a second language, instead of guarany, Spanish being the first language. 46. There is another problem, the racial one. Most brasiguaios have white skin since their ancestry came from Germany, Italy or slave countries, while most of Paraguayans are from mixed Spanish and native Guarany blood. 47. There is also a problem of documentations because many brasiguaios do not have Paraguayan IDs. And at the same time, many Brasiguaios born in Paraguay do not have Brazilian documents. It is worth mentioning that the total of Brazilian immigrants in Paraguay correspond approximately to 8% of its present population of about 6.6 million. 48. In Argentina, there are about 39,000 Brazilians in regular and irregular situations. It is said that the group of Brazilians living in illegal situation is about 3, According to Ambassador Eduardo Gradilone, Director General of Consular and Brazilians Abroad Department, MRE BR 25, in Bolivia there are 15,000 to 20,000 so called brasivianos. Similarly to 24 Consular Estimates of Brazilians in the World, see note 1. In Paraguay, there are 487,517 Brazilians. 25 Plans and Actions by MRE in the Consular and Support Area for Brazilians Abroad, a lecture delivered on October 11, 2008, at Annual Meeting of Collaborators of CIATE Information Center and Support for Workers Abroad, in São Paulo. 47

52 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges the brasiguaios, it is a junction of Brazilians and Bolivians who also live in the border area of two countries. Due to the nationalistic policy adopted by Bolivia in recent years, many problems emerged in connection with the situation of brasivianos. In such circumstances, it will be necessary to negotiate bilateral understandings. 50. As far as the Brazilians in Guyana, despite the small number (about 2,000), its presence has been positive but the combat of illegality in the border area can put their rights at risk. Therefore, migration issues must be faced from both political and consular points of view. 51. In terms of combat of illegality, there is a similar situation involving Suriname (about 8,000 Brazilians) where Brazilians are accused of practice of illegal mining and hazard to the environment. It made the approval by the Surinamese Parliament of a migration agreement signed with Brazil difficult. 52. A similar situation can be noted in French Guyana (about 20,000 Brazilians). In February 2008, the Brazilian President Lula and his French colleague Sarkozy met in order to launch a project for building a bridge over Oiapoque River and agreed to develop joint actions against transnational crimes. The border relationship with a European country complicates the issue, once if influenced by a policy of restrictions to foreigners, possibility that can not be accepted which will represent a challenge to the Brazilian policy in protecting Brazilians in South American neighborhood. Conclusion 53. As has been observed, mainly in the case of Japan, there is a wave of Brazilians returning home because of the global crisis originated from the United States. We have seen a lot of impressive cases of human solidarity among the contrypersons with the support of local governments and communities in order to alleviate the housing and food difficulties. It is said that about 40,000 to 50,000 Brazilians came back over the last six months, because they have lost jobs and housings. It would be desirable that this contingent of Brazilians, before returning, evaluate, in a planned and organized way, the conditions and possibilities of having better opportunities in Brazil. 48

53 LATIN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION TO SPAIN: Antonio Izquierdo Escribano This room document has been prepared by Antonio Izquierdo Escribano (Professor of Sociology, University of La Coruña, Spain). The views expressed are those of the author and do not commit the OECD, the OAS or the national authorities concerned.

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55 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges LATIN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION TO SPAIN: Antonio Izquierdo Escribano Introduction 1. This paper examines the links between economic growth in Spain and migration flows from Latin America to that country. It pays particular attention to the characteristics of that migration: gender, status and integration into the labor market. 2. It also focuses on the changes on the intentions and expectations of immigrants from Latin America during the course of their stay in Spain. Having originally left their home country with the intention to return quickly, they tend to become increasingly "rooted" in Spain. Economic growth and manpower needs have reinforced the political and cultural preferences of the Spanish authorities as well as those of labor and management and of public opinion in general, as can be seen in the integration of these immigrants and in the growing instances of family reunification. Immigrants from Latin America have taken jobs not only in the domestic services sector but also, because of their command of the Spanish language, in the full range of services, and more particularly in hotels, cafés and restaurants. The presence of these immigrants is also linked to the globalization of the Spanish economy as well as direct Spanish investment in Latin America, and projects in the fields of telecommunications, oil prospecting, manufacturing and transportation. Finally, bilateral agreements on immigration control and the recruitment of foreign workers were signed between 2001 and 2002 with the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Colombia. 1. Trend and characteristics of immigration from Latin America 3. The intensity with which the foreign population in Spain has grown over the first decade of the 21st century is without precedent in the recent history of Spanish migration. In both absolute and relative terms, the growth in the foreign population is greater than the waves of emigration that Spain experienced, first towards the American hemisphere (in the first decades of the 20th century) and then towards Europe (during the 1960s). 4. The data available for measuring immigration are found in the Padrón Municipal de Habitantes (PMH, Municipal Population Registry), which is a permanent administrative record, the Registry of Residence Permits (PR), which is kept by the Ministry of the Interior and covers authorizations in effect at December 31 of each year, and finally the Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA, Labor Force Survey), a quarterly sampling estimate prepared by the National Statistics Institute. 5. In January 2000, there were just over 924,000 persons registered as "non Spanish". By January 1, 2008, the municipal population registry (PMH) contained 5,270,000 foreigners, representing growth of more than 4 million people over that period. The strength and volume of annual registrations, measured through the "Statistics on Residential Variations" (EVR), show that the annual level of registrations in the PMH was 331,000 in 2000, rising to an estimated 740,000 in Registrations in the Spanish communes (municipalities) have been rising steadily, except in Between 2000 and 2003, the annual number of foreigners registering was between 331,000 and 430,000: in the two 51

56 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges following years it exceeded 650,000, and reached its peak in 2006 and 2007, with 803,000 and 920,000 respectively. The impact of the 2008 crisis is significant, for residential registrations in the communes dropped to below 200,000, compared to the record year 2007 (920,000). 6. The degree of intensity is not much different when one looks at figures for the stock of residence permits (PR) provided by the Ministry of the Interior, which is considered as the official government source. According to that source, the number of residence permits outstanding at December 31, 1999 was 801,000, while at the end of 2007 it reached 4 million. A similar picture emerges from the Encuesta de Población Activa (Labor Force Survey, EPA), which estimated the number of foreigners at 750,000 in 2000 and at 5 million in The total population of Spain is estimated today at 45.2 million persons, of whom 11% are foreigners. Moreover, 19% of births in 2007 were to a foreign mother, and 17% of marriages involved at least one foreign partner. Net immigration now accounts for 80% of population growth. In other words, without immigration, the population of Spain in 2008 would have been at its 1990 level, around 40 million inhabitants. Table 1. Trend in the foreign born population, by various statistical sources and administrative records: 2000, 2004 and 2008 (in thousands) EPA PMH PR Total Non community Total Non community Total Non community ,585 2,163 3,034 2,398 1,977 1, ,007 3,468 5,268 3,165 3,980 2,360 Source: Padrón Municipal de Habitantes and Encuesta de Población Activa (Instituto Nacional de Estadística), and foreigners with valid residency permits (Ministry of Labor and Immigration) 2. Predominance of Latin Americans among non European immigrants 8. The greatest number of foreigners registered in the PMH in Spain in 2008 came from the European Union (2,095,000), and they accounted for around 40% of the total. The predominance of immigration from the European Union was maintained at the beginning of the 21st century, with expansion of the EU, and the inclusion of new members such as Bulgaria and Romania. Since 2004, Romanian immigration has held the first place in residential registrations and in the stock of residency permits (175,000 Romanian entrants in 2007, with total numbers reaching 730,000 in January 2008). 52

57 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Figure 1. Foreign population by continent of origin, (%) EUROPE AMERICA AFRICA ASIA 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% ,004 2,005 2, Source: Padrón Municipal de Habitantes at January 1, Instituto Nacional de Estadística 9. By contrast, the share of the African population declined between 2000 and 2008 from 25% to 17% (900,999 residents at the beginning of 2008, versus 230,000 in 2000). Eight African immigrants in ten come from North Africa, primarily Morocco. 10. The number of Latin American immigrants has multiplied by a factor of 9 between 2000 and 2008, from 190,000 to 1,735,000. This growth was stronger in the first four years, and less intense in the last four years. 11. After Romanians and Moroccans, immigrants from Ecuador and Colombia are the most numerous, followed by Argentines, Peruvians and Brazilians. The largest community is the Ecuadorian, with 420,000 persons registered, but Bolivian immigration has risen the fastest in recent years, and number 240,000 persons today. 12. The immigration flow from Latin America has seen periods of intense growth over limited periods of time, followed by an abrupt decline. Flows from Colombia and Ecuador illustrate this fact. In 1999, around 75,000 Colombians were registered in Spanish communes, compared to 71,000 two years later, and 11,000 in The same holds for Ecuadorians, but here the figures are lower (see Figure 2). 53

58 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Figure 2. Foreign registrants by principal nationality (absolute values). Rumanie Maroc Bolivie Colombie Equateur Rumania Morocco Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Source: Statistics on Residential Variations, INE 3. Foreigners originating in Latin America and holding residency permits in The number of residents from Latin American countries according to the Residency Permits Registry (PR) stands at 1,335,000 (or 400,000 less than in the PMH). We can identify three differences between the PR and the PMH with respect to Latin American immigration. First, in the PR the Latin American predominance relates only to a period of three years ( ) versus four years in the PMH. Second, the Latin American predominance appears only with a lag in the case of residency permits. Third, far more Latin Americans are registered in the PMH than hold residency permits. In other words, the PMH overestimates the predominance of Latin American immigration. 14. In December 2000 and December 2008, the share of immigrants from EU countries (see Figure 4) rose from 40% to 43%, while that of Africans fell from 29% to 21%. The Latin American share rose from 21% to 30%. According to the statistics on residency permits by nationality (see Figure 5 and Table 2), the intensive migration flow of workers from Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Peru has tended to decline over the last three years, and family reunification accounts for more of the recent arrivals, with the exception of workers coming from Bolivia. 54

59 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Figure 3. Foreign holders of valid residency permits, * (in absolute values) Source: Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración (Ministry of Labor and Immigration) data: Anuario Estadístico de Extranjería * 2008 data: Quarterly Report 4/2008 Figure 4. Percentage of foreign residency permit holders by geographic zone, * (%) 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% UNION EUROPÉENNE AMÉRIQUE LATINE AFRIQUE ASIE EUROPEAN UNION LATIN AMERICA AFRICA ASIA Source: Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración (Ministry of Labor and Immigration) data: Anuario Estadístico de Extranjería * 2008 data: Quarterly Report 4/

60 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Figure 5. Foreign holders of valid residency permits by nationality, * (in absolute values) Romania Morocco Ecuador Colombia Bulgaria Bolivia Roumanie Maroc Equateur Colombie Bulgarie Bolivie Source: Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración (Ministry of Labor and Immigration) data: Anuario Estadístico de Extranjería * 2008 data: Quarterly Report 4/

61 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Table 2. Foreign holders of valid residency permits by nationality (% of total) * Rumania Morocco Ecuador Colombia Bulgaria China Peru Argentina Bolivia Others Total (absolute value) 895,720 1,977,291 3,979,014 4,473,499 Source: Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración (Ministry of Labor and Immigration) data: Anuario Estadístico de Extranjería * 2008 data: Quarterly Report 4/ Status of Latin American immigrants and length of stay 15. The Residency Permits Registry distinguishes between residents who have European Community legal status and foreign residents included in the General (or non Community) Regime. Non Community immigrants have fewer rights. They are more vulnerable than Community immigrants and they run more risk of finding themselves in an irregular status in terms of the length of their stay or their occupation. The Population Registry also contains information on changes of status, and we can therefore examine trends in the integration or permanence of Latin American immigrants (see Table 3). 16. Among the 1.1 million Latin American immigrants recorded in the General Regime, slightly more than a quarter enjoy permanent status, a third have obtained their second renewal, and the remaining third are in a precarious situation. Table 3. Residency permits in effect for Latin Americans, by residency regime and type of authorization, 2008 (in absolute values). Gen. Reg. Community Reg. Initial P 1st Renewal 2 nd Renewal Permanent Ecuador 398,129 23,398 28,705 68, , ,651 Colombia 227,793 47,039 29,997 51,338 80,384 63,461 Peru 116,467 14,433 21,837 34,188 27,342 32,346 Bolivia 81,290 4,137 11,299 16,396 36,894 5,025 Argentina 56,848 39,887 4,514 10,677 24,973 13,428 Dominican Rep. 55,196 25,777 9,950 15,743 10,875 17,987 Brazil 26,144 21,085 3,620 6,082 7,641 6,422 Others 125,340 70,923 19,191 27,983 40,205 28,075 Total Lat. Am. 1,087, , , , , ,395 TOTAL 2,341,052 2,132, , , , ,048 57

62 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Source: Foreigners with valid residency permits at 31 December Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración (Ministry of Labor and Immigration). Quarterly Report 4/ The feminization of Latin American immigration 17. Women account for 46% of all foreign residents in Spain. The feminization index, however, is highest for Latin American immigrants, at 54%, versus 45% for European immigrants, 42% for Asians, and 36% for Africans. Among the principal immigrant communities, the most highly feminized are those from Colombia and Bolivia, which are 56% female, followed by those from Argentina, Ecuador and Peru. 18. This feminization is the result in most cases not of family reunification but of migration for employment, particularly in the areas of personal care, domestic service, and hotels and restaurants. This is happening in parallel to an increased workforce participation rate among Spanish women, and greater occupational mobility for them, especially in the less skilled services. Immigrant women tend to join both the formal and the informal labor markets, as can be seen from the results of foreigner regularization programs from 1991 to 2005, by sector of activity (see Table 4). Table 4. Foreign beneficiaries of regularization programs in Spain, by sector of activity: 1991, , , Reg 1991 Reg Reg 2001 Reg 2005 Total Total Total Total % % % % (Abs.) (Abs.) (Abs.) (Abs.) Domestic services 23, , , , Other activities 32, , , , Construction 16, , , , Agriculture 15, , , , Hotels 13, , , , Retail trade 8, , , ,165 1 Not classified 50, Food industry ,306 1 Total , Source: Ministry of the Interior (Regularization 2000 and 2001) and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Regularization 2005). 1. Data for 2000 are to June Data for 2001 are to January 1, Data for 2005 are to August 31, The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries category includes the following classifications (National Classification of Economic Activities, CNAE): agriculture, livestock, hunting and related activities, market gardening, agricultural services, cereals and other crops, other fruits, agricultural production, citrus fruits and olives. The construction category includes building construction, housing, other building work, other finishing work, flooring and wall covering, painting, electrical installations, metal roofing, locksmiths. The hotels category includes bars, restaurants and hotel services. Retail trade includes other retail trade, except automotive sales. Data are to August 30,

63 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 19. With respect to regularization, the groups with the highest acceptance rates (80% of applications) are those from Latin America and Romania. A large proportion of Latin American immigrants work in domestic and personal services, and through regularization they have been able to leave the informal sector and achieve a more stable status. Table 5. Regularization: applications and acceptances by principal nationalities, and Applications (Abs.) % accepted Applications (Abs.) % accepted Applications (Abs.) % accepted Ecuador 23, , , Romania 9, , , Morocco 65, , , Colombia 15, , , Others 130, , , TOTAL 244, , , Source: Ministry of the Interior (Regularization 2000 and 2001) and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Regularization 2005). 8. The labor market's preference for Latin Americans 20. Surveys by the CIS (Center for Sociological Research) reveal a preference for Latin American immigration. Among the foreign population, Latin Americans are those who evoke the least mistrust and rejection on the part of nationals. The degree of acceptance is higher than that for the other two large immigrant communities, from Romania and Morocco. Employers in some sectors, especially in the restaurant business, in care for the elderly and in domestic services, appreciate their command of the language and their religious and cultural affinity. Quotas and regularization policies take this social preference into account. 21. Latin Americans also constitute a large proportion of foreign workers registered with Social Security, confirming the tendency to "legalization" of foreign workers from Latin America (see Figures 6 and 7 and Table 6). 59

64 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Figure 6. Foreign workers registered with Social Security, by geographic area, (absolute values) European Union. Other European. Africa. Americas. Asia Union Européenne Reste Européenne Afrique Amérique Asie 800, , , , , , , , Source: Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales y Asuntos Sociales ( ). Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Statistics Branch. *Boletín Estadísticas Laborales, Ministry of Labor and Immigration. Figure 7. Foreign workers registered with Social Security, I principal nationalities, (absolute values) Morocco Ecuador. Romania Colombia Peru Maroc Equateur Roumanie** Colombie Pérou Source: Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales y Asuntos Sociales ( ). Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Statistics Branch. *Boletín Estadísticas Laborales, Ministry of Labor and Immigration. **Note: The 2008 data do not include Romania, which is now classed under new member States of the European Union. The number of Romanians registered in Social Security at January 1, 2007 was 274,

65 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Table 6. Foreign workers registered with Social Security, Total (Abs.) Latin America (Abs.) % ,976 63, , , , , , , , , ,048, , ,688, , ,823, , ,981, , ,882, , Source: data. Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales data, Boletín Estadísticas Laborales 12 February Foreign registrants with Social Security at December 31, Ministry of Labor and Immigration. 22. For the time being, because Latin American immigrants are relatively underrepresented in agriculture, construction and industry (see table 7), they seem to be less affected by the crisis gripping those sectors, in particular the construction sector. If the crisis drags on, however, job losses are likely to be felt as well in personal and hotel/restaurant services, and this will lead to higher unemployment in the Latin American community (see Table 8). Table 7. Foreign workers registered with Social Security, by sector of activity, 2007 Foreigners (Abs.) % Latin Americans (Abs.) % Agriculture 180, , Industry 171, , Construction 417, , Services 1,211, , TOTAL 1,981, , Source: Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales y Asuntos Sociales,

66 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Table 8. Employment and unemployment rates for Spaniards, foreigners, and Latin Americans, by sex. Q1 and Q (%) Native born Foreigners Latin Americans 2008 IV 2008 I 2008 IV 2008 I 2008 IV 2008 I MALES Employment rate Unemployment rate FEMALES Employment rate Unemployment rate Source: INE, Encuesta de Población Activa, QI and Q Changing immigration goals: towards permanent settlement 23. After a dozen years of high economic growth ( ) and job creation, immigrants flocked into Spain ( ) and, with regularization, those in an irregular situation have been able to acquire legal status and to settle in the host country. The current deep economic crisis could have two opposing effects: those who keep their jobs may put down more solid roots, while those who have achieved their objectives and those who, having recently arrived in Spain, find it impossible to pursue their goals there are likely to re emigrate or return home. There are four indicators that illustrate the process of permanent settlement by Latin American immigrants and foreigners holding the nationality of a Latin American country. 24. Figures for Latin American school pupils and students are higher than those for other foreign groups (see Table 9 and Figure 8). Table 9. Non university enrollment, school years 1995/96 to 2007/08 School year Total (Abs.) Year over year growth (%) , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

67 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Source: Non university Education Statistics, Ministry of Education and Science (School Years to ). Data for are still provisional. Figure 8. Non university enrollment by geographic zone: school years 1997/98 to 2007/08 4 (absolute value) European Union Latin America Union Euroéenne Amérique Latine Rest of Europe Africa Reste Européenne Afrique Source: Non university Education Statistics, Ministry of Education and Science (School Years to ). Data for are still provisional. 25. The proportion of Latin American students has grown over the last eight years, and in 2003/2004 they represented nearly half of foreign or foreign born enrollment. Latin American immigration is also characterized by its feminization, its youth, and thus its potential employment rate (see table 10). In addition, the number of naturalizations (see Figures 9 and 10) testifies to the historic bonds between Spain and the countries of Latin America, and the desire of Latin American immigrants to settle permanently in Spain. Of the 72,000 Spanish nationality certificates delivered in 2007, more than 57,000 were for Latin American immigrants. After two years of legal residence, Latin American immigrants can acquire Spanish nationality in contrast, for example, to Moroccans who must first live in Spain for 10 years (see Figures 9 and 10). 4. Data for school years since 2004/05 include the 10 new member States which were previously included in the category "Rest of Europe". Thus, since Bulgarians and Romanians count as community students (EU-27). 63

68 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Table 10. Comparative demographic indicators at January 1, 2008 Indicator TOTAL SPANIARDS FOREIGNERS Latin Americans Masculinity ratio Proportion of young people (not working) Proportion of persons working Proportion of elderly persons (not working) Average age Birth rate Mortality rate Marriage rate Source: INE. PMH and MNP for Figure 9. Number of persons acquiring Spanish nationality, by continent, (absolute value) EUROPÉENNE AMÉRIQUE AFRIQUE ASIE Europe America Africa Asia Source: Anuario Estadístico de Extranjería ( ) and Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración, Ministry of Labor and Immigration (2007) 64

69 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Figure 10. Number of persons acquiring Spanish nationality, by principal nationality ( ) Ecuador Colombia Morocco Peru Argentina Equateur Colombie Maroc Pérou Argentine Source: Anuario Estadístico de Extranjería ( ) and Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración, Ministry of Labor and Immigration (2007) 26. The Historic Memory Act ("Children and Grandchildren Act") also allows the descendents of Spaniards displaced between 1936 and 1955 to acquire Spanish nationality until December 28, According to the Spanish authorities, around half a million applications are expected to be submitted by that date. 65

70 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges BIBLIOGRAPHY Aierdi X et al., La población latinoamericana en la CAPV IKUSPEGI Observatorio Vasco de la Inmigración. January Álvarez A, A los ecuatorianos ya se les exige visado para acceder al territorio español. (unpublished), Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS), Actitudes ante la discriminación de origen racial o étnico. Research paper nº 2731 of September Gil F and Domingo A, Inserción laboral de la población latinoamericana inmigrada en España. In Yépez Isabel and Herrera Gioconda Ed. Nuevas migraciones latinoamericanas a Europa. Flacso Ecuador Gómez Ciriano E et al., Ecuatorianos en España. Una aproximación sociológica. Documentos del Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración, MTAS, Izquierdo A et al., The favorites of the Twenty First Century: Latin American Immigration in Spain In Migration Studies nº 149 March 2003 Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Press Release nº 538, 21 January 2009: Proyección de la Población de España a corto plazo, Martínez Buján R. La reciente inmigración latinoamericana en España. CELADE, Población y Desarrollo Series, nº 40 Santiago, Chile, May 2003 Muñiz C et al., Imágenes de la inmigración latinoamericana en los medios de comunicación Paper presented at the Barcelona Forum, May OECD (2004), Latin American immigration to European OECD countries, Document prepared by Lopez Lera D and Laura Oso Casas for the Seminar on Latin America and International Migration, Santiago de Compostela, June OECD (2004), Overview of Latin American migration to the United States, by Jorge Martinez Pizarro (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ECLAC, Santiago, Chile). Document prepared by Lopez Lera D and Laura Oso Casas for the Seminar on Latin America and International Migration, Santiago de Compostela, June Oso Casas L. la inserción laboral de la población latinoamericana en España: el protagonismo de las mujeres. In Yépez Isabel and Herrera Gioconda Ed. Nuevas migraciones latinoamericanas a Europa. Flacso Ecuador 2007 Pérez Caramés, A. Los residentes latinoamericanos en España: de la presencia diluida a la mayoritaria in Papeles de Población nº 041.Mexico 66

71 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Pérez Caramés, A. La inserción laboral de la inmigración ecuatoriana en España. Implicaciones para la política migratoria española. Paper presented at the 50th Congress of FLACSO, Quito (Ecuador), October 2007 (unpublished). Santamarina C, Consumo y ocio de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España. Documentos del Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración, MTAS, Suárez Fernández B, La política de admisión en materia de extranjería: el impacto sobre el flujo de inmigración latinoamericana hacia España. Paper presented at the 50th Congress of FLACSO, Quito (Ecuador), October 2007 (unpublished). 67

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73 MIGRATION FROM MEXICO, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN TO THE UNITED STATES: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES Shirley J. Smith, Ph.D. This room document has been prepared by Shirley J. Smith (OECD Consultant). The views expressed are those of the author and do not commit the OECD, the OAS or the national authorities concerned.

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75 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges MIGRATION FROM MEXICO, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN TO THE UNITED STATES: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES Shirley Smith Ph.D. INTRODUCTION 1. The adage Geography is Destiny is nowhere more true than in the Western Hemisphere. Until the 20 th Century, the movement of southern populations toward North America was constrained by land formations and the distances involved. Land, sea and air travel have lessened these obstacles. Yet migrant access to the United States is still strongly correlated with proximity, and this relationship is only growing stronger due to the effects of global climate change. 2. Until relatively recently, migrants from the Caribbean and South America played a very minor role in overall migration to the United States. The people, crops and technologies of temperate South America would have been equally suited to life in North America. Yet for centuries the two continents remained isolated from one another due to the challenges of passage through the equatorial region. 1 Prior to completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, the 82 km (50 mile) wide strip of land linking North and South America was nearly impassible. Likewise, would be Caribbean migrants were cut off from the mainland by hundreds of miles of sea. The only southern neighbor with which the United States had much early interaction was Mexico, and that interaction explicitly discouraged northerly movement. During the period of Spanish colonization portions of the southwestern United States were actually part of colonial Mexico. Those areas became part of independent Mexico in 1821 but were lost again, to the United States, in Today a 3141 km (1951 mile) international boundary, much of it through difficult terrain, separates Mexicans from what many regard as their ancestral homeland. 3. As U.S. immigration policies became written into law between 1890 and 1950, they consistently favored countries with which Americans shared a European heritage. Although physical obstacles to migration were overcome by oceanic and later air travel, Mexican, Latin American and Caribbean populations had little chance to develop the cultural bonds on which U.S. immigration policies had come to rest. 4. Only in the 1950s did Mexican, Latin American and Caribbean migrants collectively constitute as much as 20 percent of total lawful permanent U.S. admissions (Figure 1). Their entries were spurred by the Bracero program that, beginning in 1942, admitted millions of Mexican workers for temporary employment in the agricultural sector. Many simply remained in the United States. In 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) established country based quotas that made permanent admissions proportional to the ethnic makeup of the existing U.S. population. New family preference categories reinforced ethnic patterns by favoring relatives of citizens and U.S. permanent residents. In 1965, the restrictive national origin quotas were abolished in favor of broader annual limits for permanent admissions from the Eastern (170,000) and Western (120,000) Hemispheres. For the first time U.S. law authorized substantial permanent mobility from Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, albeit at lower levels than from other regions. By 1976 when the Western Hemispheric quota was eliminated, 41 percent of each year s new lawful permanent admissions were from Mexico, Latin America or the Caribbean. With a growing population base in the United States, Mexican, Central 71

76 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges American, Caribbean, and to a lesser extent South American, nationals could finally share in the benefits of statutory family preferences. 100% Figure 1. Proportion of Legal Permanent Resident Admissions to the United States Originating in Each World Region: % 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Other Africa Asia Europe Other N. America Mexico Caribbean C. America S. America 20% 10% 0% 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s * * The figures for are partial decade data; note the disproportionate decline from Mexico. Source: Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2007, Immigrants, Table 2. MIGRATION TRENDS 5. During the many decades that U.S. laws restricted migration from Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America, it simply occurred outside of legal channels. A 2,000 mile land border made it impossible to prevent all unauthorized entries. The agricultural sector continued to hire Mexican farm laborers long after the Bracero program was abolished in Over subsequent decades, millions of Mexican, Central American and Caribbean migrants have crossed the border to take jobs throughout the U.S. economy, with or without authorization. Networks of unauthorized migration are now highly developed, often arranging passage across the border and connecting workers to specific U.S. employers. Relatively few South American migrants have entered without authorization. 6. In an effort to draw unauthorized workers into the formal economy, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1987 (IRCA) regularized the status of nearly 2.9 million unauthorized migrants. Soon thereafter the U.S. Congress established the H 1A agricultural worker visa. Employers wishing to hire H 1A foreign workers are required to provide housing for all of their farm workers and pay any transportation costs their H 1A workers may incur to and from the United States. This latter stipulation gives workers from Mexico, Jamaica, and other parts of the Caribbean an advantage over workers coming from greater distances. The H 1A program now admits nearly 90,000 seasonal agricultural workers each year. 72

77 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 7. U.S. immigration law strongly favors skilled over unskilled workers, and most skilled worker visas are issued to nationals of India, China and Europe. The family preference system is therefore the principal mechanism through which natives of most Western Hemisphere countries can obtain legal permanent admission to the United States. But this family reunification process is swiftest for relatives of U.S. citizens, and here too, Mexicans are at a disadvantage because of low rates of naturalization. Because demand for unskilled foreign labor significantly outpaces the corresponding visa allotment, the development of legal channels for such migration has not stemmed unauthorized entries. 8. The principal reason is wage disparities. The collapse of oil prices, drop in wages, and rise in inflation in Ecuador during the 1970s prompted thousands to emigrate to the United States. Likewise during the 1980s, a decade of high inflation and low economic growth in Brazil, thousands left for the United States because even low skilled jobs paid more than the higher skilled positions they were vacating. In 2009, the most a minimum wage worker in Mexico can earn is the equivalent of $3.86 U.S. per day. 2 In El Salvador, the highest paid minimum wage worker earns about $8 U.S. per day. 3 By comparison, those working at minimum wage jobs in the United States earn at least $6.55 per hour. 4 Despite higher costs of living and the stigma of being among the working poor, migrants who are able to enter and find employment in the United States, even without authorization, earn more than they could hope for at home. The disparity also benefits U.S. employers, since the wage expectations of their foreign employees can be satisfied much more cheaply than those of comparable U.S. natives. 9. Thus the number of unauthorized migrants in the United States rose from about 3.3 million in to an estimated 8.5 million in 2000 and 11.9 million in Today more than 70 percent of unauthorized migrants are believed to be from Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Fully 59 percent are from Mexico alone (Figure 2). During the current decade, a growing number of Central American and Caribbean workers have crossed through Mexican territory on their way to the United States. The Mexican government now faces its own problems with unauthorized foreign migrants. 10. The increase in hemispheric migration has been spurred not only by economic factors but by political repression, civil wars and natural disasters. There have been 14 civil wars in the Western Hemisphere since Although the U.S. Congress has crafted immigration provisions to help certain displaced migrants, others have simply arrived without legal authorization. For example, the unauthorized Colombian population of the United States grew from 51 to 141 thousand during the 1990s as a result of the Colombian civil war. 11. In selected situations, U.S. immigration authorities may offer temporary protected status (TPS) to persons at risk of being deported if their countries are beset by civil war, natural disaster, or other unsafe conditions. The duration of temporary protective status is defined but can be extended due to circumstances in the home country. Deferred deportation offers sanctuary but does not guarantee a path to lawful permanent residence. 73

78 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Figure 2. Unauthorized Migrants in the United States by Place of Origin, 1990 to % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Other countries Ecuador China Brazil Korea India Honduras Philippines Guatemala El Salvador Mexico 20% 10% 0% Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics. 12. TPS has been of particular benefit to thousands of unauthorized Central American migrants who have fled to the United States during decades of civil war and political violence at home. The U.S. Congress finally passed the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) in 1997 to prevent the deportation of certain El Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Guatemalans and Cubans and give them a possible path to lawful permanent residence. Subsequently in 2001, a series of devastating earthquakes displaced more than a fifth of El Salvador s remaining population. The U.S. government responded by granting TPS to an additional 260,000 Salvadorans then in the United States. Most still remain in TPS status. About 20,000 Salvadorans and a similar number of Guatemalans now obtain lawful permanent residence in the United States each year, becoming eligible to sponsor relatives for family reunification. 13. In recent decades, political repression and economic hardship have also caused hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Cubans to seek refuge in the United States. In the effort, many lives have been lost at sea. The Mariel boatlift brought 120,000 unauthorized Cuban migrants and about 25,000 Haitians to southern Florida in a short period of time in Such flotillas cause humanitarian crises and critically stretch the economic, social and political resources of receiving communities. Although subsequent mass migrations from the region have been smaller, they too have been highly disruptive. To avert further spontaneous boatlifts, in 1994 the governments of the United States and Cuba entered into an agreement. The United States would admit at least 20,000 Cubans per year for safe, legal and orderly migration while the Cuban government would take steps to prevent further mass departures by raft or boat. The agreement has been only partially successful in stopping flotillas, but the United States admitted more than 45,000 Cubans into lawful permanent U.S. residence in Although both Cuba and Haiti have experienced political repression and human rights violations, U.S. immigration policy has been more generous toward unauthorized Cuban migrants than 74

79 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges toward similarly situated Haitians. Admission of unauthorized Cuban migrants is governed by a wet foot/dry foot policy. Those who flee in boats and reach dry land before being apprehended may remain in the United States but those apprehended at sea are interdicted and may be returned to Cuba. 15. Haitian undocumented migrants are seldom treated as political migrants, but are instead viewed as unauthorized economic migrants. 7 The U.S. government has employed its Coast Guard resources to interdict Haitian boats at sea so that migrants could be returned to Haiti or some other country within the region. The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 allowed certain Haitians in the United States at the end of 1995 to adjust to legal permanent residence. But all spontaneous migration by sea is now very actively discouraged. Since 2002, mass sea migrations have been considered a threat to U.S. national security because they divert the Coast Guard from its national security functions. Despite having had limited legal access to the United States, there are now nearly one million Haitians residing in the country. 16. Natural disasters have also propelled mass migrations within and from the Caribbean basin. Increasingly intense hurricanes, cyclones and earthquakes have exacerbated the pace of emigration. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch tore through Honduras, Nicaragua and the Caribbean, killing over 11,000 residents and displacing many thousands more. Because the region was ill equipped to deal with returning deported aliens, the United States gave temporary protective status to about 100,000 Hondurans and about 6,000 Nicaraguans who were at risk of deportation at the time. Since 2000, their TPS status has been extended seven times and today over 80,000 Hondurans and Nicaraguans remain in the United States under TPS. The near flattening of the city of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 brought home to U.S. citizens how swiftly natural forces can compel populations to scatter. 17. The various pressures facing Latin America and the Caribbean between 1995 and 2000 were so disruptive that the United Nations estimates one out of every 1,000 residents of the region emigrated each year, giving it the highest net emigration rate of any region in the world. 8 As a result, hundreds of thousands of Central American and Caribbean nationals have been living in the United States under temporary protective status for a decade or more. Despite improving conditions in the sending countries, with the passage of time it becomes less and less likely that these migrants will ever be deported 18. From the mid 1990s through 2005, unauthorized migrants entering the United States actually outnumbered persons being legally admitted for permanent residence. The unauthorized population appears to have grown very little since 2005, and since 2007 authorized admissions appear to have outnumbered illegal entries. Jeffery Passel and D Vera Cohn of the Pew Hispanic Center estimate that during the first half of the decade the U.S. unauthorized population grew by about 800,000 per year. 9 Since 2005 net growth has averaged just 500,000 per year and the figure still appears to be trending downward. Passel and Cohn estimate that 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in March There are some indications, as yet inconclusive, that the unauthorized population may actually have declined since Pew researchers estimate that in 2008 about four percent of the U.S. population, five percent of the U.S. labor force, and one third of the foreign born labor force were illegally resident in the country. 19. The foreign born population of the United States grew by more than 20 percent between 2000 and Nearly two thirds of this net growth originated in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean (Table 1). The Central American component of U.S. population grew more rapidly than that of any other region of origin, but in absolute terms Mexico contributed far more net migrants, i.e., 75

80 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges nearly 2.4 million in just six years. Pew estimates that during the same period the unauthorized Mexican population grew by about 1.8 million. Table 1. Change in Foreign Born Population in the United States by Region of Birth: 2000 and 2006 Country Or Region Of Birth Population Change Percent of Percent Change Total Change Total 31,133,481 37,469,387 6,335, Regional Subtotal 16,067,673 20,058,546 3,990, Mexico 9,163,463 11,534,972 2,371, Central America 2,029,383 2,669, , Caribbean 2,954,820 3,354, , South America 1,920,007 2,499, , South and East Asia 7,195,764 8,860,407 1,664, Middle East 1,137,898 1,279, , Other 6,732,146 7,271, , Source: Statistical Portrait of the Foreign Born Population in the United States, 2006, The Pew Hispanic Center, 2008 at pewhispanic.org. 20. Rakesh Kochhar, also of the Pew Hispanic Center, has taken a first look at the effects of recession on Hispanic immigrant workers. 10 He finds that by the middle of the current decade Hispanic immigrants no longer contributed disproportionately to the size of the U.S. working age population. Between the third quarter of 2007 and the third quarter of 2008, there was an actual 234,000 drop in the count of working age adults who had arrived from Latin America during the 1990s. The overall working age population of Hispanic migrants continued to grow but the corresponding number in the labor force did not. Consequently, during the early months of the current recession the labor force participation rate of Hispanic migrants declined from 72.4 to 71.3 percent, a small but statistically significant drop. The decline was twice as sharp among Mexican immigrants and those arriving since Hispanic immigrant workers bore the brunt of the 2007 construction slump. An additional 239,000 became unemployed during this interval. Their overall unemployment rate rose from 4.5 to 6.4 percent and would have reached 7.8, had it not been for the simultaneous withdrawal of thousands of foreign born Hispanics from the U.S. labor force. The sharpest unemployment rate increase was registered by Central Americans (Table 2). But South American migrants lost a much larger number of jobs, and the number of migrant workers entering unemployment was largest from Mexico. 76

81 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Table 2. Employment Status of Foreign Born Hispanics, by Origin, Third Quarter 2008 to Third Quarter 2008 (nonseasonally adjusted, numbers in thousands) Year and Quarter Change to Mexico Employment 7,316 7, Employment rate (%) Unemployment Unemployment rate (%) Central America Employment 1,759 1, Employment rate (%) Unemployment Unemployment rate (%) South America Employment 1,225 1, Employment rate (%) Unemployment Unemployment rate (%) Source: Rakesh Kochhar: Latino Workers in the Ongoing Recession: 2007 to 2008, Pew Hispanic Center, December Paradoxically, the median wages of foreign born Hispanics appeared to have increased during this period. Kochhar surmises that the increase resulted from disproportionate job losses at the lowest rungs of the earnings ladder. 23. It is unclear how many Mexican, Latin American and Caribbean migrants will actually leave the United States as a result of what is shaping up to be a prolonged economic crisis. However, the forces compelling south to north migration will outlast the current downturn, and the challenges facing the Western Hemisphere will only accelerate population redistribution in the coming decades. CHALLENGES Demographic forces 24. Population growth rates. As the Baby Boom generation enters retirement, the United States is faced with the economic consequences a rapidly aging population. Existing institutions risk being undermined by the slowing growth of workforce in the face of an expanding elderly population. By contrast, the jobs being generated in Mexico and many parts of the Caribbean, Central and South America are insufficient to fully utilize the available labor supply. In many countries emigration has become the preferred safety valve to offset population growth, while in the United States immigration is often seen as the remedy for population aging. The historic movement of millions of working age 77

82 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges adults into the United States each year has helped to slow, although by no means stop, the aging of the U.S. population. Migrants from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean both expand the U.S. workforce and significantly increase the nation s birth rates. 25. Moreover, chain migration ensures a continuous flow of workers. Most U.S. visas permit immediate family members to accompany the principal migrant. Given a sufficient period of stay, families often put down roots, buying property and/or bearing and raising children in the United States. Temporary migration often becomes more permanent. Those able to obtain a green card may eventually sponsor relatives of their spouse, expanding the chain. By contrast, migrants who enter the United States illegally typically leave their families at home. However, tightening border security has complicated cross border visits to the point that many such families now appear to be reuniting north of the border. Family and chain migration are almost impossible to curtail. 26. In the long run, however, international mobility cannot rectify demographic imbalances and high rates of mobility may actually create new imbalances for the countries involved. Passel and Cohn have modeled the future demographic impacts of various levels of immigration to the United States. 11 A continuation of current migration trends from 2005 to 2050 would gradually increase annual immigration from 1.4 million to 2.1 million persons per year, for an average net increase of 1.7 million per year. The total U.S. population would grow by about 142 million persons. Fully 82 percent of this increase and the entire increase in the U.S. working age and youth populations would be attributable to immigrants arriving during that period and their U.S. born children. Even so, as the current U.S. workforce aged into retirement the dependency ratio, i.e., persons of non working age per 100 workingage adults, would climb from 59 to 72. Assuming an average of 2.6 million net immigrants per year 50 percent higher than the current trend after 45 years there would still be 69 dependents per 100 working age adults in the United States. The dynamic of population aging is inescapable. 27. Moreover, immigration of this magnitude will significantly challenge the U.S. urban infrastructure, housing, transportation, the workforce, environment, and a wide range of other resources. Already immigrants and their children present serious challenges to U.S. educational institutions and attempts to raise national educational standards. Hispanic enrollments nearly doubled between 1990 and 2006, accounting for 60 percent of the rise in total public school enrollment. Foreign born Hispanic students drop out of high school at rates that are four times the national average and six times those of other foreign born students. 12 In 2006, fully half of all U.S. adults that had never attended high school were foreign born. Just four percent of natives are similarly classified; most of them are elderly. 28. Immigration is also on target to revamp the ethnic makeup of the U.S. population over the next half century. At current trends, Passel and Cohn estimate that the traditional majority status of non Hispanic whites (67 percent of total population in 2005) will become a plurality (47 percent) by The Hispanic population will triple in size, accounting for 60 percent of overall U.S. growth. Most of this growth will be due to births among U.S. born Hispanics. The Hispanic share of total U.S. population will climb from 14 to 31 percent. This sea change will undoubtedly have social and cultural ramifications. 29. Emigration can be equally unsettling to the countries of origin. Prachi Mishra of the International Monetary Fund finds the highest emigration rates in the world are in the Caribbean, where about 12 percent of the regional labor force migrated to OECD countries between 1970 and The Central American region ranks second, with a seven percent overall loss. More than 10 percent of all 78

83 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges workers in Mexico, El Salvador and Jamaica emigrated to the United States between 1970 and Mishra notes that The aggregate emigration rates, however, understate the loss of the educated population. A majority of Caribbean countries have lost more than 50 percent of the labor force in the tertiary education segment (post high school) and more than 30 percent in the secondary education segment (9 12 years of schooling). Table 3 illustrates this point. At least three out of four graduates of high schools in Grenada, Jamaica, Haiti and Guyana have settled in the United States. Grenada has also lost six out of 10 graduates of its secondary schools to the United States. The scarce resources these countries have spent to educate their most promising residents have been lost to the local economy. Given the selective nature of emigration, brain drain is likely to increase apace with outmigration. The best hope for such countries is that migrant networks will promote trade and investment and bring in substantial remittances. Table 3. Percent of Labor Force That Has Migrated to the United States, (By Level of Schooling) Country of Origin Primary (grades 1 8) Secondary (grades 9 12) Tertiary (post HS) Caribbean Average Dominican Republic Barbados Dominica St. Lucia Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas, The Belize St. Kitts and Nevis Trinidad and Tobago St. Vincent and the Grenadines Grenada Jamaica Haiti Guyana Source: Prachi Mishra: Emigration and Brain Drain: Evidence From the Caribbean, IMF Working Paper WP/06/25, January While brain drain is diminishing the productivity of sending economies, it may also be reaping disappointing benefits for the emigrants themselves. Obtaining recognition of foreign credentials is often a problem, and college educated Latin American migrants seem to have more difficulty marketing their skills than most other comparably situated migrants. A recent study by the Migration Policy Institute looked at the occupational progress of college educated immigrants in the United States. 14 It found that four out of 10 Latin American college graduates who have been in the United States for a decade or less work in unskilled occupations (Table 4). Even after 10 or more years, over one third still work in unskilled occupations. Moreover, obtaining a college degree in the United States does not 79

84 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges appreciably improve their ability to land a skilled job. College educated Mexican migrants appear to be positioned worst of all. Economic forces 31. Labor market conditions. The enormity of regional wage disparities has already been noted. U.S. free trade agreements with Mexico and certain countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean have shifted a great deal of U.S. capital into their lower wage economies. But the resulting job opportunities have not matched potential earnings or job openings in the United States. 32. The American Community Survey (ACS) data indicate that in 2006, prior to the current economic downturn, the employed labor force of the United States included 8.4 million persons born in Mexico, 2.4 million from the Caribbean, 2.1 million from Central America, and 1.9 million persons born in South America. 15 Additionally, the U.S. unemployed included 81 thousand Mexicans, 22 thousand workers from the Caribbean, 21 thousand from Central America and nearly 13 thousand from South America. At that time, roughly 10 percent of the U.S. labor force originated in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Table 4. Share of College Graduate Immigrants to the United States Working in Unskilled Occupations by Length of Stay and Region of Origin, Region of Origin Recent Immigrants (last 10 years) Percent in Unskilled Occupations Long term Immigrants (11+ years) 80 US educated Immigrants Latin America Mexico Rest of Latin America Africa Asia China India Japan/Asian Tigers Philippines Rest of Asia Europe W. Europe/Canada/Oceania E. Europe Source: Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix: Uneven Progress: The Employment Pathways of Skilled Immigrant in the United States, Migration Policy Institute, October These migrants tend to be younger, less educated and skilled, and less proficient in English than their native counterparts. Most find jobs in household construction, leisure and hospitality, personal and support services, or light manufacturing. With little access to social safety nets, they have had a strong incentive to remain employed. Hence proportionately fewer foreign born workers than natives were unemployed in However, the employment situation of foreign workers began to deteriorate more rapidly due to their heavier concentration in vulnerable industries. Between 2006 and

85 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 2007, as the median household income of natives rose by 1.3 percent, that of all Mexican headed households fell by 6.2 percent, and that of Caribbean, Central and South American headed households plummeted by 9.6 percent. 16 Households of non citizens suffered the greatest average loss: 7.3 percent as compared with just 1.5 percent among households headed by naturalized migrants. 34. It is understandable, therefore, that the foreign born population in the United States has grown very slowly since 2007 and the unauthorized population has grown minimally if at all since Unusually large numbers of authorized migrants, especially those from Mexico, may even be returning to their homelands. Researchers have also noted a falling off of migration from other parts of Latin America since While this reversal is largely due to the current prolonged recession, other factors may be contributing as well. Important among these are the stepped up enforcement of U.S. immigration laws at all levels of government 17 and, until quite recently, the improving social and economic conditions in certain countries of origin. For whatever reason, in the last three to four years the magnetic pull of U.S. employment appears to have weakened considerably. 35. Remittances. Remittances are a sending country s most tangible compensation for its loss of educated, working age adults. The funds that are remitted help to alleviate poverty, support the unemployed, and generate demand which can have multiplier effects in the home economy. Manuel Orozco of the Inter American Dialogue points out that in countries like Mexico, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua the impact of remittances is particularly strong in rural areas, where there are few institutional sources of credit. 18 Numerous rural infrastructure projects have been funded largely through emigration. The Inter American Development Bank (IDB) found that in 2006, Latin American and Caribbean countries received five times as much through remittances as they did through official development assistance from governmental and international development groups. 19 Caribbean countries receive a higher share of their GDP from remittances than do most other countries worldwide. 20 Nonetheless, most have found that the gains from remittances are outweighed by total losses associated with skilled emigration, including loss of personnel, the costs of their public education, taxes foregone, etc. 36. Moreover, in periods of economic instability remittances can be an unreliable foundation for economic development. Remittances to Mexico and Central America increased rapidly from 2000 to 2006, but central bank reports indicate that this growth tapered off beginning in According to the Inter American Development Bank, remittances during 2007 were essentially flat. 21 Moreover, a recent Pew survey finds that seven out of 10 of the Hispanic immigrants who remitted funds in the last two years sent less in 2008 than in The IDB expects that after adjusting final 2008 remittance figures for inflation and exchange rate variations, their contribution to household incomes in Latin America and the Caribbean will have dropped by 1.7 percent over the previous year. Their eroding impact is thought to be due to significant increases in the cost of food and fuel, both to those sending and those receiving funds; migrants inability to find well paying jobs during the U.S. economic downturn; and the decline in purchasing power of home currencies relative to the U.S. dollar. As households and communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean have become dependent on remitted funds, their vulnerability to external economic forces has also grown. Governmental and Political forces 37. The U.S. perspective. Intergovernmental relationships encourage the migration of some nationalities while effectively shutting off others. Through NAFTA and the U.S. Chile Free Trade Agreement, the United States actually promotes the temporary migration of certain Mexican and 81

86 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges Chilean professionals to and from the United States. 23 Conversely, over the many decades that Fidel Castro was in power, the United States imposed strict limits on the movement of persons between the Cuba and the United States. If the U.S. Cuban relationship were to thaw following Castro s death, there would likely be a flood of migrants between the two countries as relatives reunited after decades of separation. 38. The United States is currently forging new legal migratory networks through its Diversity Visa Lottery. Each year this lottery reaches out to nationals of countries that have relatively few migrants living in the United States. Lottery winners obtain a visa that gives them a permanent foothold in the United States from which to eventually sponsor additional countrymen. The diversity lottery is only open to those born in countries from which less than 50,000 people have migrated to the United States in the past five years. All countries of South and Central America and the Caribbean have had few enough migrants to the United States to qualify except for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala. As this list illustrates, even today the largest migratory streams to the United States are from the countries in closest proximity to its borders. In 2007, the Diversity Visa program admitted 2,615 persons from qualifying countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. 39. IRCA, the U.S. legalization program of 1987, has also influenced recent permanent migratory flows. Of the 2.9 million unauthorized residents who obtained lawful permanent residence under IRCA, nine out of ten were from the Western Hemisphere. Fully 69 percent were Mexican, 15 percent Central American, and 7 percent from South America or the Caribbean. As they became eligible to naturalize, overall naturalizations shot up from a few hundred thousand per year to one million or more each year between 1995 and The newly legalized citizens entered the pool of those eligible to sponsor relatives for permanent U.S. residence, widening the door for other Mexican and Latin American migrants. Although this program has not been repeated, Congress periodically weighs the benefits of doing so again. 40. The implications of existing immigration laws are a frequent topic of political debate. As the migrants legalized under IRCA neared eligibility for several major Federal assistance programs in 1996, the impending costs led Congress to pass legislation that denied non citizens access to many of these programs. Some of those prohibitions remain in force today. In February of this year, the Congress nearly failed to expand the State Child Health Insurance Program because it would now cover legally resident immigrant children. The education budgets of many urban areas have been stretched thin by the need for language training and other remedial services for children of immigrants. Some communities have defied Federal law by attempting to deny educational benefits to unauthorized migrant children. And while most immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits, 24 public perceptions to the contrary keep the issue of immigration and taxation alive in political discourse. 41. Moreover, local governments bear many of the direct costs of immigration, including law enforcement. The spread of drug traffic and highly visible criminal networks from Mexico and El Salvador, e.g., MS13, has particularly challenged local authorities and their law enforcement resources. Since 2000, a growing number of communities have passed local ordinances targeting undocumented migrants and those who house or employ them. The costs of enforcing these ordinances have likewise strained public budgets. Concerns about rising crime, diminishing resources, and social and cultural frictions can lead to xenophobia, particularly during economic crises. 82

87 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 42. At the same time, U.S. citizens of Latin American origin have become a powerful voting block in U.S. elections. In several battleground states a much larger share of the 2008 electorate was Hispanic than had been the case in Candidates of both parties courted the Hispanic vote, which in the end went more heavily for Democratic candidates than in the previous national election. By a 2 to 1 margin, Hispanic voters favored President Obama over candidate McCain, helping to win several critical states and thereby the national election. Their prominence as a political force is now fully recognized by both political parties. 43. Political issues in sending countries. There are also political challenges for countries of high emigration. To retain a connection with their emigrant population, many countries have legalized dual citizenship. Among them are Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Panama and Peru. U.S. law does not mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one citizenship over another, but the U.S. Government recognizes the existence of this phenomenon. 25 It is unclear how election outcomes might be affected by a growing electorate with dual nationalities and pressing concerns on both sides of the border. 44. The difficulties associated with brain drain have already been noted. Credential recognition is another challenge for sending countries. When emigrants cannot find jobs commensurate with their education, they become underemployed and their home communities receive fewer remittances than might otherwise be the case. Finding ways to standardize educational credentials and improve their transferability is a significant challenge for countries with high rates of emigration. 45. The need for official identification documents has also been a pressing issue for migrants to the United States. In response to the US Patriot Act of 2001, many institutions now require identification documents for all transactions. It has become difficult for unauthorized migrants to open a bank account, obtain a driver s license, or rent an apartment without official identification. For many years the Mexican government has provided its nationals living abroad with a document that identifies them to Mexican consular officials if their assistance is needed. 26 In response to tightening U.S. security, the Mexican government has recently redesigned this matricula consular. It is now bilingual and includes a local U.S. address as well as counterfeit proof features. Mexico has successfully marketed this document to various U.S. entities not involved in immigration law. The matricula is now recognized by many U.S. banking institutions and several States, some of which also accept the Mexican Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in lieu of a U.S. Social Security number. However, the matricula consular does not meet the documentation standards set out in U.S. law and Federal authorities could well crack down on its use at some future date. For the time being however, the redesigned document is helping unauthorized Mexican nationals to get by in a tightening legal environment. 46. The eventual return of emigrants to their homeland could also present Latin American countries with a new set of challenges. Social Security is a case in point. Only persons authorized to work in the United States can obtain a valid U.S. Social Security Number (SSN). Because employers cannot hire anyone without an SSN, unauthorized workers typically invent an account into which their taxes (deducted from each paycheck) will be paid. Migrants whose taxes have been deposited into a valid account for the requisite number of years can eventually collect U.S. Social Security benefits even if they leave the country. But the taxes collected on behalf of unauthorized migrants cannot be recovered in the form of benefits because the accounts in question are invalid. 47. A second problem confronts properly documented migrants who have split their working lives between two countries, paying in to two separate social security programs. Unless they can pool credits 83

88 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges earned in the two separate programs, they may not qualify for benefits from either system. The United States has entered in to Totalization Agreements with numerous countries to make this pooling possible. However, Chile is the only Latin American country with which the United States currently has such an agreement. A draft agreement with Mexico has never been ratified. When today s highly mobile migrants can no longer work, it remains to be seen how they will support themselves if they do not qualify for either country s pension system. Faced with the high costs of living in the United States, however, many may opt to return to the country from which they came. Social and Cultural forces 48. In periods of economic prosperity, even unauthorized migrants may have little difficulty finding U.S. jobs and the U.S. public may be tacitly in support of their employment. Day laborers have been welcomed by many employers, although some communities object to the pick up sites at which they gather in local shopping centers. Local ordinances have been crafted to move these gatherings to less visible locations. 49. When resources are strained, however, attitudes toward immigrants tend to harden. Tightening budgets for education, health, law enforcement, and various public benefits bring focus to the issue of rapid immigration. Massive layoffs raise questions about whether U.S. citizens are losing their jobs while visa holders retain theirs. Underlying this xenophobia are several longstanding social and cultural anxieties. 50. The U.S. health care system rests on private health insurance, something a large share of all Latin American migrants and other low wage workers lack. Uninsured health care costs are largely paid with tax dollars. Disease transmission is also a threat. U.S. efforts to eradicate diseases such as tuberculosis have been complicated by large scale population movements from other regions of the world By 2006, nearly six percent of all students in U.S. elementary and secondary schools were foreign born. Nearly five million children lacked English proficiency, and over one million required English language instruction. These special needs add to concerns about the future of public schools. Moreover, Latin American children have retained their linguistic identity more persistently than many previous cohorts of immigrants, contributing to the mainstream perception of cultural separation. Migrants from many parts of the hemisphere are able to communicate in a single language, Spanish. Because of the large number present in many localities, it is possible for many adult migrants to live and work in a Spanish speaking environment. Whole work crews are often supervised in Spanish, minimizing their interaction with English speaking co workers. 52. Social and Cultural challenges for sending communities in Latin American and the Caribbean. Emigration seriously challenges family bonds. It separates adult emigrants from their spouses and/or children. It leaves many children to be raised by other relatives while their parents support them via telephone and remittances. Even when family reunification restores one family unit, it breaks up others. Within emigrant families it is common for siblings to have different countries of birth and citizenship, and different legal rights. Those born in the United States are by law U.S. citizens, regardless of their parents immigration status. Their foreign born siblings may have a green card, a temporary visa, or no documentation whatsoever. Many foreign born children have lived in the United States since early childhood but are at risk of deportation to a country they do not know because their parents brought them in illegally or overstayed their visas. Years of living abroad, even for those fully authorized 84

89 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges to do so, can leave migrants with a bi national identity, dual citizenship, and a permanent sense of being an outsider. The Challenge of Global Climate Change 53. Although it is seldom discussed in the context of migration, climate change is the most inexorable challenge facing the Western Hemisphere. In as little as 40 years, living conditions may change so radically in certain regions that their populations have no choice but to relocate. According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), by mid century Latin America will experience: 1) increases in temperature and decreases in soil moisture that will convert Amazonian tropical forests to savanna and replace semi arid vegetation with arid land vegetation; 2) significant loss of biodiversity thoroughly much of tropical Latin America; 3) a drop in crop and livestock productivity leading to greater risk of human hunger, and 4) changes in precipitation that will alter the availability of water for consumption, agriculture and energy generation Argentina is already experiencing the most intense, prolonged and expensive drought in the past 50 years. Since October 2008 it has lost an estimated 1.5 million head of cattle, mostly due to starvation. This represents 11 percent of the previous year s total animal slaughter. The affected regions are home to 40 percent of that country s renowned cattle stock. Animals being slaughtered are now significantly below normal body weight. In just three years Argentina has fallen from the world s third largest beef exporter to seventh place. Agricultural harvests are also severely depressed. Grain exporters have lost an estimated $5 billion due to weather. 29 The potential for lost jobs and displaced rural populations is clearly evident. However past experience suggests that mass emigration of Argentines to the Northern Hemisphere is unlikely. 55. Today small island states like those of the Caribbean, with 16 percent of their land area classified as low elevation coastal zones, are at tremendous risk of climatic events. 30 The IPCC projects that by mid century these small islands will see: a) rising sea levels that exacerbate storm surges, erosion and other coastal hazards and threaten settlements, facilities and vital infrastructure, b) erosion of beaches and coral bleaching, c) potable water supplies dropping to inadequate levels during periods of low rainfall, d) more invasions of non native species, and e) changing frequency and intensity of extreme weather with adverse impacts on humans and other species. Hurricane Mitch forced many thousands of migrants to flee the Caribbean basin for refuge in 1998; many of them are still the United States. If environmental devastation ruins the tropical tourist industry, Caribbean and Central American countries will have lost one of their principal sources of employment, revenue and investment. Increased emigration is likely to follow. 56. According to the IPCC, over the next half century colder regions will experience higher agricultural and forestry yields but warmer environments will see these yields decrease due to drought, heat stress and wildfires. Insect outbreaks will be widespread. There will be less demand for heating but greater demand for cooling. Air quality in cities will decline and heat related deaths may increase, especially among vulnerable populations with inadequate housing conditions most prevalent in tropical areas. By mid century many areas will experience heavy, increased precipitation that damages crops. Soils will become waterlogged and eroded to the point that they are no longer cultivable. Flooding will cause loss of property and disrupt settlements, commerce, transportation and urban and rural infrastructures. Contamination of ground water is likely to cause water scarcity. Those in the weakest economic position, especially in low latitude, less developed areas, will be most vulnerable. In such regions, emigration may be the only rational response. 85

90 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 57. A second study recently published by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assesses the longer term impacts of increased carbon dioxide emissions on world ecosystems. 31 The international panel of scientists authoring this report finds that the increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide during the 21st century will irreversibly alter regional patterns of rainfall and lock in the course of rising sea levels worldwide for the next thousand years. Well before 2035, subtropical areas (including southern regions of South America and the United States) are expected to experience Dust Bowl like conditions due to dramatic drops in precipitation. 58. Sea levels will continue to rise, irrespective of melting polar and glacial ice. The risks are sobering, given that human populations tend to concentrate in and around coastal zones. In Latin America more than 28 million residents, i.e., six percent of the region s population and nearly seven percent of its urban population, currently reside in low elevation coastal zones. So too do 25 million residents of North America. Fully 55 percent of those living in Guyana and 88 percent of all Bahamians now live in low elevation coastal zones. These populations will experience massive weather events, even if their land remains above sea level. As nature forces residents of the Caribbean basin and coastal Latin America to settle elsewhere, the United States will be coping with its own problems of population displacement. Under such circumstances, increased immigration could well exacerbate the challenges outlined previously Jared Diamond: Guns, Germs, and Steel, Three separate rates pertain in different zones, ranging from pesos to pesos per day. At February 2009 exchange rates this is the equivalent of U.S. $3.65 to $3.86 per day. This is the minimum wage for the highest paid sector, business and services, as agreed by El Salvador s Minimum Wage National Council, effective January 1st, The Federal minimum of $6.55 per hour will increase to $7.25 in July Twenty six States and the District of Colombia have higher minimums than the U.S. rate, some in excess of $8.00 per hour. Edward W. Fernandez & J. Gregory Robinson: Illustrative Ranges of the Distribution of Undocumented Immigrants by State, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Division, October Michael Hoefer, Nancy Rytina, and Bryan C. Baker: Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2007, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, September 2008 and jeffrey S. Passel and D Vera Cohn, Trends in Unauthorized Immigration: Undocumented Inflow Now Trails Legal Inflow, Pew Hispanic Center, October 2, Ruth Ellen Wasem, U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants, Congressional Research Service, UN Population Division, International Migration Report: Jeffrey S. Passel and D Vera Cohn, Trends in Unauthorized Immigration, October 2, Rakesh Kochhar: Latino Workers in the Ongoing Recession: 2007 to 2008, Pew Hispanic Center, December 15, Jeffrey S. Passel and D Vera Cohn: U.S. Population Projections: , Pew Research Center, February 11, Rick Fry: One in Five and Growing Fast: A Profile of Hispanic Public School Students, Pew Research Center Publications, August 6,

91 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 13 Prachi Mishra: Emigration and Brain Drain: Evidence from the Caribbean, International Monetary Fund Working Paper, Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix: Uneven Progress: The Employment Pathways of Skilled Immigrant in the United States, October Pew Hispanic Center, Statistical Portrait of the Foreign Born in the United States, 2006, table 24. These figures include those naturalized as well as both legal and unauthorized migrants. 16 Rakesh Kochhar: Sharp Decline in Income for Non Citizen Immigrant Households, ,Pew Hispanic Center, October 2, Mark Hugo Lopez and Michael T Light: A Rising Share: Hispanics and Federal Crime Pew Hispanic Center, February 18, Manuel Orozco: Remittances, the Rural Sector, and Policy Options in Latin America, Migration Policy Institute, June 1, Inter American Development Bank, Multilateral Investment Fund: Sending Money Home: Leveraging the Development Impact of Remittances, Inter American Development Bank, Multilateral Investment Fund: The Changing Pattern of Remittances: 2008 Survey of Remittances from the United States to Latin America, April, Inter American Development Bank: Estimates of 2008 Remittance Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean, at: 22 Mark Hugo Lopez, Gretchen Livingston, and Rakesh Kochhar,: Hispanics and the Economic Downturn: Housing Woes an Remittance Cuts, Pew Hispanic Center, January 8, Due to Congressional opposition, subsequently free trade agreements have not included temporary entry provisions for professional mobility. 24 Michael E. Fix and Jeffrey S. Passel: Immigration and Immigrants: Setting the Record Straight, the Urban Institute May Dual citizenship is not encouraged as a matter of U.S. policy because of the problems it may cause. 26 Marti Dinerstein, Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies: The Issuance, Acceptance and Reliability of Consular Identification Cards, Testimony prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, June 19, According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, Trends in Tuberculosis Incidence United States, 2006, : In 2006, the TB rate among foreign born persons in the United States was 9.5 times that of U.S. born persons. The slowing of the decline in the overall national TB rate and the inability to effectively address persistent disparities in TB rates between U.S. born and foreign born persons threaten progress toward the goal of eliminating TB in the United States. JAMA International Panel on Climate Change: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, Summary for Policy Makers, November

92 Round Table: Labour Migration from the Americas to OECD countries: magnitude and challenges 29 Joshua Partlow: Pride of Argentina Falls on Hard Times: Drought Kills off Cattle by Thousands, The Washington Post, Feb. 9, Gordon McGranahan, Deborah Balk and Bridget Anderson: Low Coastal Zone Settlements, Tiempo, August Low elevation coastal zones are defined as contiguous land areas up to 100 kilometers from the coast that have elevations of ten meters or less. Susan Solomon, Gian Kasper Plattner, Reto Knutti, and Pierre Friedlingstein: Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, January

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95 ROUND TABLE RELEVANT INFORMATION ON LABOUR MIGRATION POLICIES

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97 KEEPING THE NATION UNITED: STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS CONNECTING EMIGRANTS TO PORTUGAL Jorge Macaísta Malheiros This room document has been prepared by Jorge Macaísta Malheiros (Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon). The views expressed are those of the author and do not commit the OECD, the OAS or the national authorities concerned.

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99 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies KEEPING THE NATION UNITED: STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS CONNECTING EMIGRANTS TO PORTUGAL Jorge Macaísta Malheiros Introduction 1. The relatively quick transition from emigration to immigration experienced by Portugal since the late 1970s and clearly reinforced after the second half of the 1990, seems to deny what Magalhães Godinho (1978) calls the structural character of Portuguese emigration. Nevertheless, the condition of a country of emigration or, more appropriately, a country with emigrants, is not lost, even if the emigration has decreased and changed in nature over the past three decades (predominantly temporary, slightly more feminised and skilled, involving new destinations such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom or more recently Angola). In fact, the 5 million Portuguese and Luso descendents spread throughout the world outnumber the immigrants settled in Portugal by a proportion of 10 to But it not just a question of numbers; Portuguese emigrants and their offspring feed a coming and going process between the host countries and Portugal that still involves intense exchanges of goods, information and even people, which is facilitated by the contemporary process of spatial shrinking caused by the decrease in the relative costs of international transport and also by the progress in telecom (mobile phones, internet ) and media (e.g. the Portuguese international TV chains). Finally, if the issue of immigration has been ranked high in the Portuguese political agenda of the later 15 years, emigration was never left outside this agenda, even if its political relevance has become smaller in recent years. The creation of the Emigration Observatory in 2008 that aims to collect, systematize and make available information about Portuguese emigration, the development of training programmes in Portugal for the descendants of emigrants in the 2000s or the extension of voting rights to emigrants in the Portuguese presidential elections since the 1997 Revision of the Constitution, are three examples of measures that illustrate the presence of emigration in the Portuguese political agenda. 3. Having in consideration the emigration condition of Portugal and the changes that have occurred in the last 3 decades, this paper will focus in the contents and goals of the structures and mechanisms that have been created by the Portuguese government to ensure the links between the expatriated community and the home country. After a snapshot of the contemporary position of Portugal in the domain of international migration, the structures and mechanisms that ensure political, economic and social participation of the Portuguese abroad will be described as well as their results and limitations. As most of these bodies and measures were a creation of the democratic regime in its setting up process and first consolidation stage, the analysis will focus mainly in the 1980s period. Nevertheless, several of the measures implemented in those days are still on place or were even expanded in later years (e.g. voting rights), even if others have recently been removed (e.g. the special bank loans and bank accounts targeting the immigrant public that benefitted from fiscal advantages). 95

100 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 4. Even if the systems connecting the Portuguese communities abroad with Portugal are no longer at their peak, mainly due to the reduction of the relevance of emigration both in demographic and economic terms, its analysis maybe taken as an interesting reference for more recent emigration countries. First, it shows how emigration policy evolves in response to different policy and especially migratory contexts. Secondly, it enables some assessment of the results achieved with the various measures that may be taken into consideration by countries that are implementing or strengthening systems of connection between the home countries and the diasporas. Just to mention two facts that are partially related to the Portuguese emigration policy, it is important to remember that: 1) Portugal had a much higher return rate from the major destinations States in Europe than other former emigration countries of Southern Europe, such as Spain (SOPEMI, 2008); 2) Portugal was still ranked among the top five countries in absolute volume of remittances in the early 1990s (Stalker, 2000), also receiving one of the highest values of remittances per inhabitant in 1994/ Portuguese emigration: notes about the present and the recent past 5. Since the 1990s, the position of Portugal in the global migration framework has changed, following the process that occurred in all Southern European states of the EU(15): from an emigration country where outflows were clearly higher than inflows, Portugal passed to the position of a receiving country with a positive net migration. This process is visible in table 1, which shows that negative net migration has been a clear feature of the 1960s and, though to a lesser extent, of the 1980s in Portugal. Actually, the positive migration balance of the 1970s, is associated to end of the 1960s immigratory cycle in Western Europe at the time the major destination of Portuguese emigrants, but especially to an extraordinary political and demographic event: the decolonization process of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa. If the joint effect of the Portuguese democracy achievement in 1974 and the closing of traditional destinations in Western Europe, namely France but also West Germany, have contributed to reduce the outflows and to strengthen the inflows of nationals, the decolonization process was responsible for a major return inflow, that reached between and people, in the period Significantly, once this turbulent and exceptional demographic period was passed, emigrants again outnumbered immigrants and Portuguese net migration returned to the negative value that characterised it in the 1950s and the 1960s. 6. Only in the 1990s, a period without any exceptional social and demographic events, characterized by the maturation of the Portuguese democratic regime and also by the consolidation of the Portuguese market economy in the framework of the European Community 1, have inflows clearly outnumbered outflows. In fact, for the first time in 50 years, the Portuguese population grew basically due to net migration, which represented approximately 80% of total demographic growth between 1991 and Portugal and Spain formally joined the EC in

101 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies Table 1 Components of Population Change in Intercensal Periods Figure 1 Emigração Portuguesa por principais destinos ( ) 7. A closer look to the historical outflow of Portuguese nationals in the 20th century (Fig.1), confirms the very significant drop between 1973 and 1975 and the relatively low emigration values that were registered between the mid 1970s and the mid 1980s 2. In the second half of the 1980s and the early 1990s, a new emigration cycle apparently took place. Although the volumes of emigrants were substantially smaller than the ones registered in the 1960s and early 1970s, some increase can be observed in the second half of the 1980s 3, Switzerland (Marques, 2006) emerging as a major destination 2 3 Between 1961 and 1974, the annual average of emigrants corresponded to people whereas the yearly average for the period slackens to values below (Baganha and Peixoto, 1997 According to Baganha and Peixoto, the average annual number of emigrant departures between 1985 and 1992 would have reached at least individuals. 97

102 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies followed by Canada, although France and Germany 4 have also kept their role of relevant host places. Wage differentials between Portugal and the main destination countries as well as the increasing ease of intra European mobility after joining the EU in 1986, and especially after the implementation of Free Circulation in 1992, are key explanatory factors for the strengthening of Portuguese outflows. In addition, old social networks of Portuguese emigration have also played a role in this process, especially in traditional destinations countries, such as France (Simon, 1990) or even Canada. 8. Throughout the 1990s, overall annual outflows decreased (Figure 2), interrupted by a countercycle in the mid 1990s due to the involvement of thousands of temporary migrants from Portugal in the post unification public works boom in Germany. Also in the beginning of the 21st century, namely after 2002 when the Portuguese economy started to display signs of contraction, some increase in the outflows seems to be observed, although the data provided by the Questionnaire to the Departure Movements applied by INE are not robust enough to sustain this feature. Notably, analysis of the stocks of Portuguese citizens registered in the main destination countries in Europe points to an increase in the outflows in the period (SOPEMI Portugal 2007), despite not being accurate enough to enable an exact quantification of the growth rate. Figure 2 Annual outflows of Portuguese Nationals main destinations ( ) Source: INE, Demographic yearbook. 4 It is important to mention that the abolition of the Portuguese Emigrant Passport in 1988 had an impact in the emigration statistics, especially in the case of Western European destinations. Actually, the number of Emigrant Passports issued was the administrative source for the values of Portuguese emigration until After a period characterised by the absence of data, in 1992 the National Statistics Institute (INE) has started the application of the indirect Questionnaire to the Departure Movements as an addenda to the Employment Survey and the supply of data about Portuguese emigration flows was re instated until 2004, when the spreading of the results of this questionnaire was suspended due to technical limitations. 98

103 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 9. In addition to a reduction in the global number of departures at least between the early 1990s and the early 2000s and to the emergence of new destinations in Europe (e.g. Switzerland and more recently Spain and the United Kingdom) and even in other continents, such as Angola 5, the post 1980s emigration incorporates new mobility strategies such as the international posting of workers hired by Portuguese enterprises that develop activities abroad or the involvement of Portuguese workers in temporary activities in other EU member states (e.g. harvesting in Spain or the Netherlands). All in all, Portuguese emigration modalities have become more complex after the 1980s and incorporate a larger number of temporary migrants that circulate between Portugal and other European countries. Figure 3 Evolution of the stock of legal foreigners (all categories) Source: INE and SEF (Aliens and Borders Office). 10. If the 1990s Portuguese net migration was highly positive, this was due to some reduction in the outflows but especially to a significant increase in the inflows, that accelerated substantially around the turn of the 21 st century (Figure 3). Actually, the transition from country of emigration to country of immigration, that started in Portugal in the early 1990s, became clear in those years, when the registered foreign population passed from (1998) to approximately in 2001 and almost in After this year, the total stock of foreign population has eventually experienced a slight decline in 2005, compensated by a return to a growth trend in the 2006 and 2007, although at much lower pace than the one registered between 1998 and Although we do not have accurate data on the inflows of Portuguese to Angola, the number of work visas grated to Portuguese citizens by the Angolan authorities has increased substantially in recent years. In addition, the volume of remittances sent by Portuguese citizens settled in Angola has increased 5 times between 2003 and 2007, jumping from 9,5 million Euros to almost 50 million Euros. 99

104 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 11. All things considered, we would like to stress two main conclusions from the analysis of the present position of Portugal in the domain of international migration: 1. Portugal has made a trajectory from emigration to immigration, which started in the late 1970s/early 1980s, but that was only consolidated in the 1990s. After the immigration peak of the period , Portuguese net migration is now certainly more reduced, but eventually still positive. 2. Despite the decrease in the emigratory flows by comparison to former periods such as the 1960s, the early 1970s and eventually the late 1980s, emigration is still an important element of the Portuguese social structures, especially in low urbanized regions of North and Centro Interior that are simultaneously the most relevant sending areas. Actually, Portuguese diaspora involves approximately 5 million Portuguese and Portuguese descendants spread throughout the world, whose 33% live in USA and Canada, 16% in France, more than 20% in Brazil and Venezuela, 6% in South Africa and 5% in the United Kingdom. Although some expressions of the interaction between the Portuguese communities abroad and Portugal are nowadays more reduced, especially in the older destinations of South America or even South Africa 6, Portuguese emigrants still remit relatively large sums of money (2 600 million euro in 2007, 80% coming from Western European destinations), feed the Portuguese international broadcast chains such as the public RTP Internacional, can influence electoral results for the Parliament as happened in the 1999 election, and animate many villages of the North and Centro Interior of the country during the summer holidays. In addition, for many Portuguese families, emigration is still an everyday fact of life, not only because close relatives were or still are living abroad, but especially because the old social networks that support emigration did not disappear and can be reactivated in periods when the pressure to depart is stronger, as apparently is happening in the last 4 or 5 years. 12. Finally, the issues of return and the relationship of the Portuguese second generations with their country of ancestry are nowadays elements that are taken into consideration in the policy measures concerning emigration. If most of the measures aiming to strengthen the links between the Portuguese communities and Portugal and to lead the Portuguese immigrants to invest in their home country were implemented by the Democratic regime in the late 1970s and especially in the first half of the 1980s, as we will see in the next section, in more recent years, the measures targeting Portuguese descendants have been modestly but progressively incorporated into emigration policy. 6 For instance, the volume of remittances that close to 10% of the GDP in the early 1980s (Lopes, 1996), started to decline in the early 1990s (Martins, 2003). Currently, the total volume of accounted remittances sent by Portuguese abroad has declined from approximately million euro in 2000 (around 3% of the GDP) to just below million euro in 2007 (around 1.6% of the GDP). Despite this trend, the volume of remittances sent by Portuguese in 2004 was still equivalent to more than 50% of the total amount of EU funds transferred to Portugal in the same year. 100

105 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 2. Portuguese emigration policy from the ambiguity of the dictatorship to the democratic recognition? 13. After the beginning of the 1960s, when the emigratory flow to Europe established and increased progressively until the early 1970s, Portuguese emigration policy was marked by the implementation of control measures to regular migration, frequently in the framework of emigration agreements with the major destination countries (Rocha Trindade, 2001). Actually, Portugal signed emigration agreements with France and the Netherlands in 1963, with Germany in 1964 and with Luxembourg in Although these agreements did not prevent irregular migration, especially to France but also to other countries, they had some regulatory effect over Portuguese emigration flows, contributed to channel emigration flows to these countries (less so for the Netherlands) and were a step, or at least a reference, in subsequent negotiations on social security or social conditions of emigrants 7. In addition to emigration contingents and to transport fees, these agreements already mentioned the need to ensure the housing conditions of emigrants, as well as access to health. In some cases, even the (limited) possibility of family reunion was mentioned, as happened in the emigration agreement with France. All in all, even if these agreements were not completely effective in channelling Portuguese emigration to legal flows, they guaranteed a Portuguese quota in the West European recruitment systems and played a role in the promotion of a relevant volume of regular emigrants to certain destinations. They also ensured some level of social protection to the emigrants (Aguiar, 1987), as well as the respect for a principle of family reunion, that has been widened in subsequent years. 14. With the democratic regime emerging from the Revolution of April 1974, the position of the Portuguese government towards the Portuguese communities abroad changed significantly. If the later years of the dictatorship already gave signs of stronger recognition and protection of the Portuguese abroad with the implementation of measures such as the opening of the first external delegations of the National Secretariat of Emigration in 1972, the ideologists of the new democratic regime assumed, from the beginning, the national relevance of the absent nation. While this focus of policy on the communities abroad has been facilitated by the large numbers of emigrants, their relative proximity to Portugal and the associated economic benefits, namely through the sending of remittances, two other ideological factors may have also have contributed to it. Some authors (Rocha Trindade, 2001) mention a substitution mechanism, through which the Portuguese communities abroad have replaced the role of the lost Colonial Empire as a symbolical presence of Portugal and Portugality abroad. Others (Malheiros, 2003), refer to the relevant role played by some exiles (Mário Soares 8, Álvaro Cunhal, Tito de Morais, among others) in the juridical and political reforms that established democracy in Portugal. Several of these exiles had contact with Portuguese emigration, especially in France, and were aware of the problems experienced and also of the political elements (escape from compulsory military service in the Colonial War; connection to political forces banned by the dictatorship) that complemented the fundamental economic causes of emigration. The State Secretariat of Emigration was created at the end of 1974, including the General Directorate of Emigration and the Emigration Institute. Also in November 1974, the first democratic legislation on electoral acts 9 granted the right to vote to Portuguese citizens living abroad, provided that they had an effective participation in the Portuguese economic and social life. In practical terms, this meant having children or a spouse living in Portugal and a period of An example is provided by the Protocol between Portugal and France on the Social Situation of Portuguese nationals in France, which was signed in July Actually, the Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) one of the two major government forces since the establishment of Portuguese democracy has been founded in 1971 in Germany by a group of exiles. Decrees n. 621 A, 621 B and 621 C of the 15th of November

106 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies settlement abroad inferior to 5 years at the moment the law was promulgated (Ferreira, 1994). Despite the assumption of a restrictive perspective that subsequent legislation would remove, these legal devices point to the intention of the young democratic regime to establish closer links with the Portuguese communities abroad, not only through the presence in the destination places 10, but also through the attribution of effective political rights to the absent nation. 3. Structures and mechanisms ensuring the links between Portugal and the Portuguese communities 3.1 Symbolic elements, cultural links and education 15. Probably the first and the most important symbolic element associated to the recognition of the national relevance of the Portuguese communities abroad was the establishment, in 1997, of the Portuguese National Day (the 10th of June) as the day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities (Decree Law n.80/77 of the 10th of June). Through this decree, the Portuguese government wanted to spread a message to the Portuguese communities, assuming explicitly they were a part of the Nation. From 1977 onwards, the 10th of June celebrations always involves the public participation of Portuguese consular authorities together with the Portuguese associations in the destination places, in addition to a connection speech made by the State Secretariat and even the President of the Republic. 16. But this evocation of saudade based on the creation of symbolic elements of connection is prolonged in issues such as the support to the networks of Portuguese associations abroad or the promotion of Portuguese language teaching among the Portuguese communities. Concerning the first issue, there are nowadays more than Portuguese emigrant associations in the world, encompassing disparate strategies, from the traditional elements of folk culture, religion and soccer to modern social service provision (education, assistance to the elderly, etc) within the contemporary framework of the transfer of social functions from the State bodies to the 3rd sector. In addition to these, we may also find political associations as well as organizations of Portuguese descendants. This highly diversified fabric, which involves small and large organizations, active and almost inactive ones is supported by the Portuguese government. In the 1980s, when this support was stronger, the assumption of the Portuguese associations as relevant elements of the Portuguese cultural fabric has led to the implementation of measures such as the organization of training courses in socio cultural animation, the attribution of subsidies to Portuguese community media and support for film and cinema festivals as well as Portuguese lecture centres. The divulgation of Portuguese traditional cultural activities, such as folklore and traditional games, has also been part of the activities supported by governmental measures (Aguiar, 1987). 17. Concerning the issue of Portuguese language, the major element corresponded to the implementation in 1973 of a service aiming to support the teaching of Portuguese to the children of emigrants settled in Europe at the elementary and junior high school levels, that was first regulated by a 10 In 1975, the State Secretariat of Emigration moved from the Ministry of Labour to the place it still occupies today in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This allowed the Portuguese emigration authorities to use the network of Portuguese embassies and consulates that were better located to serve the Portuguese communities abroad to contact and provide services to the emigrants. Only the recent reforms of the territorial network of consular services are partially abandoning the principle of geographical proximity to the places of concentration of Portuguese communities. 102

107 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies status created in 1976 (Vasconcelos, 2001). Nevertheless, it was only in 1987 (Decree Law n.3/87 of the 3rd of January) that a sector was explicitly created for Elementary and High School Teaching abroad within the framework of the Ministry of Education (Costa, 1993). Since then, the Portuguese government has developed activities that aim to frame the education policies of emigrants and their offspring, involving the creation of Portuguese language courses and Portuguese syllabus in collaboration with the host countries authorities, and the settlement of an official Portuguese teaching network in 9 European countries (Spain, Andorra, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium) where teachers recruited and paid by the Portuguese Education Ministry are placed. 18. Despite the relevant role of the Portuguese Official Elementary and High School Teaching Network in Europe 11, that served an increasing number of students between 1990/1991 and 2007/2008 although involving a progressively smaller number of teachers (Table 2), there are some problems that have never been solved. Table 2 Official Network of Portuguese Teaching in Europe (*) In this year, the network covers 9 countries instead of 8, due to opening of basic Portuguese courses in Andorran schools in the early 2000s. Sources: DGAEE, 1992; DEB 2000 and GEPE, Concerning the degree of recognition of the Portuguese courses, three modalities can be considered: i) Integrated teaching, when it takes place in the regular school hours and is coordinated (or even recognised as a language option) with the other teaching subjects of the host countries school system; ii) Parallel Teaching, when the Portuguese class hours take place after the ordinary school hours or on weekends and iii) Extra School Teaching, when the classes are both outside the school hours and the competences of the education authorities of the home and the host countries (initiatives of emigrants associations, for instance) (Costa, 1993). Although some recent evolution in the sense of expanding the first modality (Integrated Teaching) took place in several countries, the modality of Parallel Teaching has been dominant, situation that requires extra efforts from students (that are in school when the host countries colleagues are at home, resting or playing) and teachers (because they tend to have few students in each school, they are obliged to teach in several places, frequently separated by relatively large distances, as happened in France). In addition, the number of hours taught in the Portuguese courses tends to be relatively reduced, according to pedagogical and scientific needs expressed by some experts (Costa, 1993). Considering these problems, the best solutions seem to be the transition to systems of Integrated Teaching as much as possible, which enable the children of emigrants to benefit from the Portuguese teaching in ordinary teaching hours and in the global context of schooling. In addition, this makes Portuguese an optional language for the host country students, contributing to the spread the language and the culture. Naturally, the implementation of such an option is dependent on negotiations with the destination countries authorities, which should be suggested as much as possible. 11 In addition to Europe, the Official Network of Portuguese Teaching also includes courses in South Africa. 103

108 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 3.2 Consultative Mechanisms and Political Participation 20. We have already mentioned the option of the democratic regime in attributing voting rights to the Portuguese emigrants, already in the first voting legislation issued in November As a consequence, in the first general and fully democratic elections that took place in Portugal in April 1975 to elect representatives to prepare the democratic Constitution, approximately emigrants voted. With Law n.16/1978 of the 3rd of November, the conditions for Portuguese emigrants to vote in Parliamentary elections were established, with respect for the following principles: Portuguese citizens registered in the Portuguese electoral rolls abroad registration is not compulsory for Portuguese residents in foreign countries and should take place in Portuguese consulates are entitled to elect four specific MPs that belong to two emigration cycles : the European cycle and the Rest of the World cycle. The decision to attribute two MPs to each cycle resulted from the application of a demographic relationship of 1 MP for each Portuguese voters (there are presently voters registered in the two cycles). Between the elections of 1980 and the elections of 2005, Portuguese citizens abroad have been electing their four MPS by mail in ballots. Ballots were sent to the official addresses of electors abroad by the National Elections Commission and sent back to Lisbon. Because the system revealed some inefficiency (for instance, the number of null votes was always much higher than in Continental Portugal, Madeira and the Azores) and was subject to potential fraud, in September 2008 Parliament approved a new law that changed the system to require physical presence. This change, which will probably be applied in the Parliamentary election this year, will require voting places in the main concentration areas of Portuguese emigration The number of voters grew until in 1980; in 1991; but declined afterwards, to in A registration campaign by Portuguese authorities led to an inversion of this trend and the number of voters present in the external electoral circles reached in the end of It is worth mentioning that this volume of voters is well below the number of Portuguese citizens living abroad (less than 10%). In addition, turnout is systematically lower than in Portugal (24% against 64% in the 2005 election). Having said this, because these MPs target specifically the problems of the emigrants and bring them to the Parliament agenda, the right of political participation through the vote can not be denied to those that want to give an effective contribution to the policy of the Portuguese nation, even if they constitute a minority among the potential voters. 22. Also in this domain, a new extension of emigrants voting rights took place in the context of the Constitutional Reform of According to it, the Portuguese citizens living abroad and registered in the electoral books are also entitled to vote in the Portuguese presidential elections, having already participated in the 2000 and 2005 polls. 23. In addition to the voting rights, the creation of the Consultative Council of Portuguese Communities (CCPC) by the Decree Law n.373/80 of the 12th of September has been a relevant step in the process of ensuring a continuous mechanism for listening the problems and the suggestions of Portuguese emigrants. Created originally within the framework of the Portuguese associative movement, the Council evolved to a system of direct election by the Portuguese emigrants settled in the 12 The possibility of electronic voting was tested as an alternative, but apparently the results obtained were not robust enough to ensure efficiency and a fraud proof system. 104

109 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies various destination countries that are organised as electoral circles (CAEPE Subcomissão das Comunidades Portuguesas, 2005; Law n.48/96 of the 4th of September). With a maximum of 100 members elected for periods of 4 years, the plenary of the CCPC meets once every four years in Lisbon but has a Permanent Council that functions in the Parliament and meets at least once per year. Having the mission of informing the government in the matter of emigration policy, the council has produced a relatively large number of recommendations to the Portuguese government, especially in its most active years (286 in the period 13 ; 278 in the ). In some cases, these recommendations are country specific, but frequently they assume a more general character in the domains of the promotion of Portuguese teaching and language, improvement of juridical, cultural and social support to the emigrants and the communities or the creation of better return conditions. 24. In addition to these measures, the nationality Law of 1981 (Law n.37/81 of the 3rd of October) established the principle of double citizenship, allowing the Portuguese citizens living abroad to have both, the nationalities of the host country and of the origin country. Because the former nationality law (Law n. 2098, of the 29th of July of 1959) did not allow double citizenship, several Portuguese lost their nationality due to marriage with foreigners or to other naturalization processes associated, for instance, long term residence in foreign States. With the implementation of the 1981 law, some of these were able to reacquire their Portuguese citizenship retroactively. This relatively generous nationality law for emigrants, that also facilitated the acquisition of Portuguese nationality on the basis of ancestry, must be assumed as another instrument in the process of maintaining links between the expatriated Portuguese community and the motherland, ensuring formal equality in the citizenship rights. 3.3 Remittances and mechanisms to support savings and investment in the homeland 25. As mentioned above, Portugal has received very significant volumes of remittances between the late 1960s and the early 1990s (Table 3). If we compare several Mediterranean countries that witnessed important periods of emigration between the 1960s and the 1980s, we see that Portugal was the one that most benefitted from remittances, in relative terms (as a percentage of the GDP table 4). Table 3 Evolution of remittances sent by Portuguese emigrants (*) Constant prices. Source: Bank of Portugal (treated by Patacão until 1996; after author s own calculations). Table 4 Percentage of remittances in the GDP (selected countries) 13 According to the assessment made of government response to these demands, approximately 59% received positive answers (SECP, 1986). 105

110 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies Sources: World Bank and Bank of Cape Verde. 26. In addition to possible sociological or cultural connection of Portuguese to the homeland, these volumes of remittances have been stimulated by bank strategies (including a particular credit institution owned by the State the Caixa Geral de Depósitos) with the public policy support. Portuguese banks have created a network of small agencies and bank agents present in the origin villages of the interior, in close contact with the emigrants and their families. In addition, Portuguese banks have also opened branches in several major destination areas, approaching the service from the potential clients and generating a social network of trust with emigrant clients. In addition to this, several banks have developed products that specifically target emigrants, namely the tax sheltered emigrant account 14. This tax exemption aimed to support investment made in Portugal by emigrants (in houses, estates or the opening of businesses) and can be used for a low interest loan. 27. In addition to this, emigrants benefited from tax reductions or temporary tax exemptions in the acquisition of real estate as well as home ownership. Since 2006, some of these benefits have been formally eliminated. 4. The 21st century situation: changing the interaction mechanisms in a post emigration era? 28. As we have seen before, Portugal is not exactly in a post emigration era. Emigration is now reduced and frequently temporary, but outflows are still taking place and the Portuguese communities abroad are very large, now incorporating a significant number of descendents. In addition to this, the possibilities of spatial interaction are now simplified, allowing a change in the geographical organization of services that nowadays can be satisfied through the use of internet and other technologies. 29. Considering this new framework, contemporary Portuguese emigration policies have undergone some changes and are now incorporating a set of relatively new elements. 14 Decree Law n.323/95, from the 29th of November. 106

111 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 30. First, there is a stronger interest in the second generation, through the maintenance of the Network of Portuguese Teaching abroad and also through the maintenance of a quota of 7% of places in the Public University System reserved for emigrants and their family members. In addition to this, other experiences have been implemented, such as the Programme (Estagiar em Portugal Training in Portugal), launched in 2000, as a joint initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity aimed at young Portuguese nationals or youngsters of Portuguese descent (between 18 and 30) living abroad who wanted to complement and improve their socio professional skills through paid training experiences of nine months in the Portuguese labour market. The programme targets qualified or semi qualified young people (with full secondary school, college attendance/graduation or specific vocational training) and aims to improve the professional skills of the target groups, in a context that increases their knowledge about the Portuguese entrepreneurial fabric and strengthens their links with the effective or ancestral origin country. The answer to the Programme was very positive in the first edition (2000/2001), involving 1403 candidates from the several worldwide Portuguese communities. One thousand forty six people were selected, a figure slightly above the Programme target (1000 fellows). Unfortunately, the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) was only able to place 277 young people. Apparently, the later editions were less successful, as demonstrated by the significant reduction of placements negotiated by the IEFP and also the decrease in the placement rate (table 5). Apparently, this reduction of the institutional investment in the Programme is having a repercussion in the number of candidates, which halves at every new edition. In addition, and despite the merit of the Programme, that tries to involve young qualified people of Portuguese descent in the national labour market, its implementation in a negative economic conjuncture reduces its attraction for potential applicants and makes job placement more difficult. Table 5 Situation of the candidates in the three editions of the "Estagiar in Portugal" Programme Source: DGACCP/Ministery of Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities (unpublished data). 31. Another measure in this field corresponds to the creation of the LD<30 card (Luso descendent under 30 years old card) that targets young (between 12 and 29 years old) Portuguese descendents living abroad. If these youth come to Portugal with the LD<30 card, they benefit from some discounts in the use of the public transport systems, accommodation, leisure activities and some other facilities. 32. A second line of intervention is also associated to a post emigration peak situation, but targets the other end of the demographic pyramid: the older emigrants, namely those experiencing socioeconomic difficulties 15. The Programme ASIC CP, a subsidy to elderly Portuguese experiencing social 15 These situations are more frequent in the Latin American destinations (e.g. Brazil and Venezuela) than in North America or in Europe. 107

112 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies difficulties, and Portugal no Coração (Portugal at Heart), that provides a short term visit to Portugal to elderly Portuguese abroad for more than 10 years, are good examples of measures in this approach. 33. A third line corresponds to the follow up of temporary Portuguese migrants that are hired to develop activities in several European countries. Because there are cases of exploitation of these workers and contract violations, Portuguese authorities make warning campaigns on these situations, support workers who are victims of labour exploitation and try to cooperate with the destination country authorities to prevent and solve this kind of situation. 34. Fourth, new forms of communication with the Portuguese communities abroad have been implemented, involving the creation of a public chain of International Television (RTP Internacional), dominated by programmes in Portuguese and spreading systematic news about Portugal. The recent creation of the portal of the Portuguese Communities by the General Directorate of Portuguese Communities and Consular Affairs, still being developed but already providing some basic information to those that want to emigrate or are already living abroad, is another example of technological improvement at the service of the contacts between Portuguese emigrants and the public authorities. 35. Finally, a fifth line of intervention is associated to the modernization and restructuring of the Portuguese network of consular services. This involves the development of new functions in the area of economic promotion and some changes in the consular network. Within the process of redefinition of the world map of Portuguese consulates, an optimisation strategy is under implementation, leading to some closures, fusions and changes in the categories of diplomatic representations, especially in Brazil and in some West European countries that were traditionally major destinations of Portuguese emigrants (e.g. France, Germany and to a lesser extent, the Netherlands). If consulates are nowadays geographically more distant from some residential areas of Portuguese communities, the services offered are better and the use of new technologies may compensate for inconveniences caused by relocation. 5. Closing remarks 36. From the Portuguese experience in the domain of managing emigration, it is possible to draw some final thoughts that may be useful for the general debate on the role of governments in the process of facilitating the interaction between emigrants and the home community. 37. First, it is important to remember that the strategies implemented must be assumed in a dynamic perspective, both in temporal and geographical terms. Migration contexts change and emigration policies must be flexible enough to adjust themselves to changes in the flows and their nature. In addition, emigration policies are embedded in each country s culture and frequently involve negotiations with destination countries. This means that direct transfers of mechanisms or structures as well as attempts to impose them are likely to fail. 38. Second, home countries intra government cooperation must be the norm and different ministries should be involved. If the Portuguese experience points to the relevance of Foreign Office in the process, the cooperation with government bodies for social security, labour and education is central for the success of actions. Good communication channels and efficiency in responses are fundamental to the success of the policies. 108

113 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 39. In addition, emigration management processes should be based on trust between emigrants and government bodies. Policies should be realistic and not be based on processes that cannot be fulfilled (e.g. the limited results of the Estagiar em Portugal programme are due to incapacity to guarantee workplace training). This generates distrust and waste of public resources. In addition, immaterial elements are fundamental in emigration policies it is not just a question of remittances or remittance support; the connection to the homeland is also supported by key issues such as language and services delivered to the second generation. Actually, another element of a trustful relation is the development of a complementary strategy by the governments when emigrants are asked to contribute to the home country through bank savings, investment or simply the use of their skills, governments must also contribute to these processes, either through direct monetary or indirect help (through tax reductions or exemptions, for instance) or through the creation of material and immaterial conditions for the implementation of the project or the use of the skills. 40. Fourth, emigrants must have a voice and must know that government hears their voices. Therefore, the existence of formal consultative channels of contact which talk to the governments as well as the capacity to elect representatives to parliaments and other sovereignty bodies that play a stronger role in the decision making process are fundamental to strengthen the links between the absent nation and the country of origin. 41. Finally, the recent developments show that emigration impact in the host country can last after emigration peaks, but this depends on the strategies developed to link emigrants and especially emigrants descendants to their countries of ancestry. 109

114 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies REFERENCES Aguiar, Manuela (1987), Política de Emigração e Comunidades Portuguesas. Porto, Secretaria de Estado das Comunidades Portuguesas. Baganha, Maria I. and Peixoto, João (1997), Trends in the 90 s: the Portuguese migratory experience in Baganha, M.I. (ed.), Immigration in Southern Europe. Oeiras, Celta, pp CAEPE Subcomissão das Comunidades Portuguesas (2005), Os Mecanismos de Representação dos Migrantes Audição 30 de Junho de Lisbon, Assembleia da República. Costa, Fernando (1993), Contributos para o estudo do ensino do português em contexto multicultural. O caso do Luxemburgo. Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Lisboa. Ferreira, J.M. (1994), Portugal em Transe ( ) in Mattoso, J., História de Portugal (vol.viii), Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores. Lopes, J.S. (1996), A economia portuguesa desde 1960 in Barreto, A. (org.), A Situação Social em Portugal Lisboa, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa, pp Magalhães Godinho, Vitorino (1978), L emigration portugaise (XV et XXéme siècles). Une constante strcuturale et les responses aux changements du monde. Revista de História Económica e Social, n.1. Malheiros. Jorge ( ), O Voto, a Arma do Povo: O Processo de Consolidação da Democracia e a Participação Política dos Emigrantes Portugueses in Saeculum Revista de História, Paraíba, Departamento de História, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, pp Marques, José Carlos L. (2006), Os Novos Movimentos Migratórios Portugueses O Caso da Emigração Portuguesa para a Suíça. Dissertação de Doutoramento em Sociologia apresentada na Universidade de Coimbra. Martins, Fernando Ribeiro (2003), Pinhal Interior Sul e o regresso de emigrantes ( ). Dissertação de doutoramento em Geografia apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Patacão, Helena (2001), Impactes económicos da emigração portuguesa in Janus 2001 Anuário de Relações Exteriores. Lisbon, Público UAL, pp Rocha Trindade, Maria Beatriz (2001), As políticas portuguesas para a emigração in Janus 2001 Anuário de Relações Exteriores. Lisbon, Público UAL, pp SECP(1986), Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas recomendações de 1981 a 1985 e sua implementação. Porto, Secretaria de Estado das Comunidades Portuguesas. Stalker, Peter (2000), Workers without frontiers. The impact of globalization on international migration. London, ILO/Lynne Rienner Publishers. SOPEMI/OECD (2008) International Migration Outlook. Paris, OECD. Vasconcelos, Teresa (2001), Ensino do Português no estrangeiro in Janus 2001 Anuário de Relações Exteriores. Lisbon, Público UAL, pp

115 DEFIS DE LA MOBILITE DES HAUTEMENT QUALIFIES DE L AMERIQUE LATINE: QUELQUES ÉLEMENTS DE REFLEXION Jean Baptiste Meyer This room document has been prepared by Jean Baptiste Meyer (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Marseille, France. The views expressed are those of the author and do not commit either the OECD, the OAS or the national authorities concerned.

116

117 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies DEFIS DE LA MOBILITE DES HAUTEMENT QUALIFIES DE L AMERIQUE LATINE: QUELQUES ÉLEMENTS DE REFLEXION Jean Baptiste Meyer Résumé: L analyse quantitative de la migration de personnes qualifiées, notamment de celles originaires de l Amérique Latine, a progressé significativement depuis une décennie. Parallèlement, la prise de conscience de dispositifs de développement des compétences à travers la mobilité (brain gain vs brain drain) s est confirmée durant toute cette période. Cependant, tant la fiabilité accrue de certains indicateurs que la capacité nouvelle de gérer le mouvement et la distance ne doivent faire illusion. La présente étude de cas analytique dans la région pointe la nécessité d être prudent sur les conclusions partielles auxquelles induisent les connaissances actuelles. Elle invite naturellement à améliorer la collecte de données et la performance des outils classiques de mesure et de suivi. Mais elle conduit aussi à re concevoir les mobilités globales observées et à proposer d autres instruments que ceux traditionnellement envisagés et utilisés pour l observation et le suivi des migrations internationales. Resumen: El análisis cuantitativo de la migración de personas calificadas, notablemente de America Latina, ha mejorado significativamente durante la última decada. Paralelamente, la conciencia de dispositivos de desarrollo de competencias a través de la mobilidad (brain gain vs brain drain) se confirmó durante todo este periodo. Sin embargo, tanto la mejor fiabilidad de algunos indicadores como la capacidad nueva de manejar el movimiento y la distancia no deben hacer illusión. El presente estudio de caso analítico en la región apunta a la necesidad de quedar prudente sobre las conclusions parciales a las cuales nos llevan los conocimientos actuales. Nos invita naturalmente a mejorar la recolección de datos y la eficiencia de las herramientas clásicas de medida y monitoreo. Pero nos lleva también a reconcebir las mobilidades globales observadas y a proponer otros instrumentos que los tradicionalmente contemplados y utilizados para la observación y el seguimiento de las migraciones internacionales. Summary: Highly skilled migration quantitative analysis, notably from Latin America, has significantly improved during the last decade. Meanwhile, the awareness of skills development schemes through mobility (brain gain vs brain drain) has been confirmed. However, improved reliance on indicators and new abilities to manage moves and distances should make no illusion. New data analysis about the region points to the need to remain cautious on partial conclusions to which current knowledge drives us. Such analysis obviously shows necessary improvements in data collection and in the performance of conventional tools for measurement and monitoring. But at the same time, it also invites us to reconceive the global mobilities observed and to propose other instruments than those traditionally taken into consideration and used for the observation and follow up of international migrations. 113

118 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies Introduction 1. Le présent texte traite des mobilités de personnes originaires d Amérique Latine et impliquées à l étranger dans des activités dites à haute intensité connaissance. Loin d être une synthèse sur la question de la migration qualifiée et des indicateurs propres à la décrire, il constitue une contribution à l amélioration de ces derniers et à l élaboration de nouveaux descripteurs, utiles pour la gestion des mouvements de ces ressources humaines cruciales pour le développement. 2. Durant la dernière décennie, des progrès significatifs dans la collecte des données ont permis de prendre la mesure des stocks de personnes qualifiées expatriées, de façon générale et comparable entre tous les pays du monde (section 1). Un approfondissement critique de ces travaux, avec des données plus précises mais seulement sur l Amérique Latine, révèle la pertinence mais aussi les insuffisances des inférences présentement effectuées (section 2). Au delà du comptage des personnes mobiles, le recensement des associations, des réseaux et des liens actifs entre diasporas et pays d origine est un enjeu crucial auquel la région Latino américaine tente de répondre depuis une quinzaine d années ; cette expérience peut être exploitée aujourd hui (section 3). Le projet européen CIDESAL Création d incubateurs des diasporas du savoir pour l Amérique Latine vise précisément à remplir cette fonction d observatoire mais aussi celle de la production d information utile pour le développement relationnel effectif entre expatriés et avec les pays d origine (section 4). 1 Quelques apports de la décennie et leurs limites 3. La difficulté d accéder à une information statistique détaillée, fiable et uniforme dans le temps et dans l espace a toujours compliqué l étude des migrations internationales depuis les pays en développement. C est le cas, en particulier, des populations qualifiées d Amérique Latine, même si une combinaison des différentes sources a permis d élaborer une documentation conséquente (Luchilo et al. 2004, Pellegrino 2002, Texido et al. 2003, Torales et al. 2003). 4. Depuis une décennie, cependant, les efforts entrepris pour parvenir à construire une base d information offrant les qualités requises, ont amplement précisé la vision globale du phénomène. Ils émanent de spécialistes oeuvrant dans la mouvance d organisations intergouvernementales (FMI, Banque Mondiale et OCDE) et s appuient sur des données de stock, collectées dans les pays de l OCDE, receveurs de personnels hautement qualifiés du sud (Beine, Docquier et Rappoport 2007 ; Carrington et Detragiache 1999 ; Docquier et Marfouk 2004 ; Docquier et Rappoport 2005 ; Dumont et Lemaître 2005a et 2005b, OECD 2008). 5. Ces travaux comptabilisent les expatriés présents dans les pays de l OCDE, pour lesquels les chiffres sont disponibles par les recensements de l année 2000 et choisissent comme critère discriminant de la qualification, la détention d un diplôme de l enseignement supérieur. Cette population est ainsi analytiquement isolée et rapportée à celle, homologue, présente dans le pays d origine. Un taux d expatriation est ainsi logiquement inféré de ce rapport, dont le niveau renseigne sur l importance et la gravité de l émigration. 6. En dépit de variations très importantes entre les pays, le taux d expatriation de diplômés de l enseignement supérieur apparaît comme globalement modéré. Il reste à 5% pour l Asie et atteint 10% pour l Afrique dans son ensemble. La région Amérique Latine et Caraïbes comporte les disparités les 114

119 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies plus aiguës : le taux est de 5% pour l Amérique du Sud, de 17% pour l Amérique Centrale et de 43% pour la zone Caraïbes (Docquier et Marfouk). Cette région regroupe d ailleurs les extrêmes : le Brésil et le Guyana, autour de 2% et 80% respectivement (Dumont et Lemaître). 7. La distribution par pays révèle que les grands Etats ou économies émergentes ont des taux faibles même si les contingents qu ils exportent sont souvent nombreux (chiffres absolus élevés). Les petits pays, pauvres, insulaires ou enclavés exhibent les taux les plus élevés. Les facteurs économiques (PNB/hbt), géographiques (proximité d un centre attracteur), historiques (tradition coloniale), institutionnels (système académique), structurels (capacité technologique) et démographiques (masse critique qualifiée) se croisent et se combinent pour expliquer les situations et leurs différences. 8. Mais globalement, l image est plutôt rassurante : hormis quelques exceptions, les taux sont modestes et reflètent des situations a priori gérables. Ils incitent à dédramatiser le phénomène et plaident en faveur d une circulation positive, correspondant au paradigme qui s est substitué à celui du brain drain depuis la fin du XXème siècle. Des analyses économétriques sophistiquées entérinent même cet aspect positif en tendant à confirmer l hypothèse de l effet stimulant de la migration sur la formation locale de capital humain par l incitation supplémentaire que fournit aux individus la perspective de le valoriser sur le marché international à travers l expérience migratoire (Beine, Docquier et Rappoport). Toutefois, cette innocuité de la mobilité, voire son acception positive, sont largement tributaires des niveaux des taux : les conclusions des modèles peuvent se retourner au delà de certains seuils. Or, précisément, les taux exhibés à partir des chiffres des diplômés de l enseignement supérieur peuvent minimiser la réalité de l expatriation, si l on considère qu ils reflètent une partie peu significative car mal caractérisée de la population migrante dotée de compétences élevées. 2 Estimations des stocks d expatriés à haute intensité connaissance 9. On estime souvent que la circulation des compétences et par conséquent de leurs détenteurs est un corollaire normal de l avènement d une société et d une économie mondiale fondée sur les savoirs. On associe donc cette intensité croissante des activités liées à la connaissance avec la mobilité accrue des ressources humaines en sciences et technologie (HRST, voir OCDE 2002). Or, le critère de la possession d un diplôme de l enseignement supérieur ne reflète pas loin s en faut l appartenance à une telle catégorie de personnel. L accès à l université (ou aux colleges ) s est considérablement banalisé et ne donne plus la clé de positions socio professionnelles de forte productivité et socialement valorisées. C est le cas dans les pays de l OCDE où plus du tiers de la population active aujourd hui possèdent un tel diplôme tandis que les pays émergents et en développement s en rapprochent rapidement. Le taux d accès à l enseignement supérieur en Amérique Latine est passé de 21% à 31% entre 1999 et 2006, à peine la moitié de ce qu il est en Amérique du Nord et en Europe Occidentale (UNESCO 2009). 10. Cette généralisation de la condition universitaire a une incidence sur l évaluation et l analyse que l on peut faire du phénomène migratoire. En effet, elle attire l attention sur le découplage entre la qualification (le diplôme) et la compétence effective (activée dans le travail réel). Cette question rejoint celle de la sous utilisation des ressources humaines (brain waste) comparée à leur valeur nominale, qui affecte particulièrement mais pas uniquement les populations migrantes (Batalava et Fix 2008). Autrement dit, nombre de migrants qualifiés exercent des professions pour lesquels ils sont 115

120 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies surdiplômés et dont le contenu des tâches ne correspond guère à leur niveau d études. Pour autant, leur emploi dans le pays d origine ne serait pas forcément apparié de meilleure façon, comme le montre le chômage chronique des diplômés dans certains pays en développement au taux d émigration élevé (Maghreb par exemple). 11. Afin de surmonter cette confusion entre qualification nominale et compétence exercée, le choix a été fait de prendre en compte ici des catégories professionnelles réellement impliquées dans des activités à haute intensité connaissance, à partir de données statistiques différentes. Elles sont produites par la National Science Foundation (Washington DC) et recueillies dans la base SESTAT à partir d enquêtes réalisées tous les 2 ou parfois 4 ans (depuis 1993 jusqu à 2003). Ces dernières sont effectuées sur des échantillons oscillant entre 80 et personnes selon les années, détentrices d un diplôme d enseignement supérieur dans les domaines des sciences et de l ingénierie. Cette population représente à peu près un tiers de celle prise en considération dans les recensements pris en compte par l OCDE et utilisés dans les études évoquées à la section antérieure. 12. La base SESTAT permet de distinguer plusieurs sous populations à l intérieur de ce groupe, selon l activité à laquelle elles se consacrent : Recherche et Développement, Education, Recherche fondamentale, etc On peut alors observer la part de la population expatriée dans chacune de ces branches d activité (voir figure 1). Figure 1 : Part des expatriés dans les groupes à haute intensité connaissance aux Etats Unis ( ) Expats percentages in knowledge intensive activities in the USA Source SESTAT NSF HS (highly skilled): population hautement qualifiée en science et ingénierie RDT (research, development and teaching): sous population investie dans les activités recherche, développement, enseignement (supérieur) R&D(research and development) : sous population investie dans les activités recherche et développement (exclusivement) BAR (basic and applied research): sous population investie dans les activités recherche fondamentale et appliquée BR (basic research) : sous population investie dans les activités recherche fondamentale (exclusivement) Colonne bleue : 1993 Colonne violette :

121 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 13. Deux déductions procèdent de ces constats statistiques : 1. La proportion d expatriés croît avec l intensité connaissance ; plus on se rapproche des activités créatrices de savoir, plus la participation de personnes nées à l étranger est importante. 2. La présence étrangère aux Etats Unis dans ces activités s est accrue durant la décennie Une observation plus précise sur l ensemble de cette dernière permet de noter une inflexion notable (voir figure 2). Figure 2 : évolution de la part des personnes nées à l étranger parmi la population hautement qualifiée en science et ingénierie aux Etats Unis ( ) chiffres absolus (gauche) et pourcentages (droite) Evolution of foreign born highly skilled S&E populations in the USA Source : SESTAT NSF 14. Une accélération manifeste apparaît au début des années 2000, après une relative stagnation durant la deuxième moitié de la décennie Le nombre des professionnels d origine étrangère passe de 1,6 à 3,6 millions et de 12,5% à quasi 17% de la population qualifiée en science et ingénierie aux Etats Unis, entre 1999 et Les constats statistiques effectués ci dessus confirment que les estimations faites à partir des recensements de l année 2000 et comptabilisant les diplômés de l enseignement supérieur, minimisent l ampleur du phénomène en négligeant sa dimension actuelle et les populations les plus discriminantes d une société fondée sur la connaissance. 16. Pour apprécier l écart entre ces estimations et celles issues des données de la base SESTAT, une comparaison a été effectuée sur l Amérique Latine. 117

122 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 17. Les chiffres de la base SESTAT, référant aux expatriés scientifiques et ingénieurs latino américains impliqués dans des activités R&D aux Etats Unis, ont été rapportés à la population homologue dans les pays d origine calculée par la RICYT Red Ibero Americana de Indicadores de Ciencia Y Tecnologia (figure3). Figure 3 : Personnels à demeure (en bleu) et expatriés aux USA (en violet) pour différents pays latino américains (1999) (en %) Home (blue) vs expats (in the USA, purple) personnels from Latin America. Source : SESTAT et RICYT 18. La part prépondérante de la population expatriée aux Etats Unis apparaît pour certains pays (Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad y Tobago). Celle concernant le Brésil, l Argentine ou le Mexique est bien moindre. En termes de taux d expatriation (aux USA), cela donne la configuration suivante (figure 4) : 118

123 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies Figure 4 : Taux d expatriation aux USA pour les professionnels de la R&D (%) Expats rates for R&D latin american professionnals in the USA : Source : SESTAT et RICYT 19. En procédant à une comparaison systématique entre ces taux d expatriation et ceux rapportés par les auteurs présentés antérieurement (Carrington et Detragiache 1999, Dumont et Lemaître 2005, Docquier et Rappoport 2005) la figure suivante apparaît (figure 5) : Figure 5 : Comparaison des taux obtenus par les différentes études Camparison of rates according to 4 different studies: Source : OCDE, SESTAT et RICYT 119

124 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 20. Les taux issus de la base SESTAT/RICYT sont nettement plus élevés que ceux des autres études, bien que ne portant que sur les Etats Unis. Toutefois, une relative similitude de profil apparaît : les taux sont bas pour les mêmes pays et élevés pour les autres également. 21. En tentant d extrapoler à partir des données issues de la base SESTAT pour généraliser à l ensemble des pays receveurs pour comparer totalement avec les autres études, un choix a été effectué. Alors que certains auteurs considèrent que la migration latino américaine des personnels R&D vers les Etats Unis ne représente que 40% de l ensemble (60% allant vers le reste du monde) (voir Albornoz et al. 2002), une estimation différente a été privilégiée ici. Considérant la proximité et l attractivité des Etats Unis, la part de ce pays a été estimée à 2/3 contre 1/3 seulement pour le reste du monde (Europe essentiellement). Cette appréciation minimale et prudente laisse tout de même entrevoir une différence importante avec les autres études (figure 6). Figure 6 : Taux d expatriation moyen de personnel R&D latino américain dans le monde selon différentes études (1999 et 2000) Average rate of expatriation of latin american R&D professionnals according to 4 studies : Source : OCDE, SESTAT et RICYT 22. Selon ces estimations, la moitié à peu près des personnels investis dans des travaux de recherche et développement et originaires de l Amérique Latine opère en dehors de leur pays d origine. La différence énorme avec les autres études, à partir simplement d une redéfinition de la catégorie pertinente, souligne l extrême sensibilité des interprétations aux données de base et l impérieuse nécessité d améliorer constamment nos instruments de mesure. Elle invite à la prudence concernant toute interprétation hâtive quant à la circulation des compétences, moins bénigne qu il n y paraît. 120

125 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies 3 Apprécier les initiatives de la diaspora 23. L exode des compétences est un problème récurrent dans les politiques de développement de l Amérique Latine depuis 40 ans. Cet exode soutenu et continu a débouché sur la constitution de diasporas de personnes hautement qualifiées, dont une majorité est dispersée dans des pays de l OCDE. On assiste aujourd hui dans le monde à une prolifération de réseaux diasporas hautement qualifiés visant au développement de leurs pays d origine. Ces initiatives associatives d expatriés, souvent promues ou soutenus par leurs Etats d origine, ont été recensées à différentes reprises par diverses équipes (Meyer et Wattiaux 2006). On estime qu il y en a aujourd hui plusieurs centaines. Ceux concernant l Amérique Latine représentent moins d un quart du total contre près d un tiers pour l Afrique et la moitié pour l Asie (Meyer 2005). Pourtant, l Amérique du sud était pionnière dans la constitution de ces réseaux au début des années Si leurs réseaux initiaux se sont aujourd hui éteints, d autres ont pris la relève, signe d une vitalité renouvelée en dépit des difficultés. 24. Les compétences des expatriés, longtemps perçues comme des ressources perdues, apparaissent aujourd hui à travers ces réseaux de diasporas qualifiées comme un capital social et humain non négligeable, potentiellement mobilisable par les pays d origine. Des pays d Amérique Latine notamment l Argentine, la Colombie et l Uruguay ont été parmi les premiers à révéler au grand jour cette option diaspora de récupération des compétences au profit du pays d origine, dans le milieu des années Apparurent ainsi l AFUDEST (Association Franco uruguayenne pour le Développement Scientifique et Technique de 1985 à 1994), le réseau Caldas des chercheurs et ingénieurs colombiens à l étranger, les réseaux argentins Cre@r, Prociar et Setcip (Meyer 2005, Meyer et al. 2007). Mais leurs réseaux ont souffert les vicissitudes de projets pilotes, sans obtenir les succès de leurs homologues asiatiques. Pourtant, ces expériences se poursuivent sous des formes renouvelées ; elles se sont même élargies à de nouveaux pays récemment (Mexique, Chili, Pérou, intérêt croissant du Brésil) et peuvent aujourd hui être mises à profit. En effet, les difficultés rencontrées par les réseaux pionniers de la région seraient surmontées, grâce à leur compréhension, et les bases de leur succès pourraient être rigoureusement établies, à travers la mise en place de dispositifs appropriés. 25. En Amérique Latine, les multiples tentatives de traiter le phénomène migratoire des personnes qualifiées ainsi que ses effets ont échoué. Les causes des échecs sont le manque d information (a), le défaut d instruments (b) et d organisation (c) pour suivre, gérer et utiliser la mobilité. a) L information fait notoirement défaut dans l étude des migrations qualifiées en général. Les statistiques ne permettent guère d estimation précise par faute d uniformité des catégories, de comparabilité des séries temporelles ou simplement de précision dans la collecte des données initiales, selon les pays (émetteurs et récepteurs). Au delà des chiffres, l identification et la localisation des expatriés hautement qualifiés susceptibles de se reconnecter au pays est un exercice faisable de façon systématique en exploitant diverses sources. Il n a jamais été tenté autrement que de façon partielle, dans les cas latino américains, fournissant une base étroite et fragile à toute fondation ultérieure. Enfin, les associations de migrants qualifiés, souvent appelées diaspora knowledge networks, sont elles mêmes seulement très partiellement connues des agences susceptibles d en tirer parti dans les pays d accueil et/ou d origine et par conséquent négligées par les politiques publiques ou institutionnelles. b) La mise en réseau d expatriés dispersés dans le monde entier, leur reconnexion durable, l optimisation ou simplement la bonne gestion de la circulation des compétences du pays en fonction 121

126 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies des états du marché du travail, le transfert de connaissances et de valeurs intangibles de l économie basée sur les savoirs, supposent des outils de suivi, de veille technologique et de prévision stratégique. Certains d entre eux sont disponibles dans des pays latino américains aujourd hui mais pas tous. De plus, les diasporas constituent un champ nouveau dans lesquels les outils sont en cours d élaboration et d expérimentation. En effet, la socialisation de populations flottantes, aux identités multiples, aux intérêts et aux sollicitations parfois divergentes est un phénomène très complexe. La captation de cette ressource humaine et sa stabilisation sont problématiques et requièrent des investissements sociotechniques adaptés. c) Enfin, l organisation des réseaux propices à une circulation non dissipative des talents et la régulation adaptée des besoins en personnel qualifié dans des secteurs clés et sensibles sur le plan du développement social et humain (santé et éducation) exige des capacités d anticipation, de négociation et de décision qui ne se créent pas spontanément. L expérience des réseaux latino américains révèle empiriquement, après de nombreux essais/erreurs, l importance de modalités de gouvernance appropriées. Leur construction ad hoc est toujours exploratoire mais peut s appuyer sur des modèles issus des sciences sociales (Meyer 2007). 4 La création d observatoires et d incubateurs des diasporas 26. L Office de coopération de la Commission Européenne, EuropeAid, a confié à l Institut de recherche pour le Développement, la coordination du projet CIDESAL Création d incubateurs des diasporas du savoir en Amérique latine. Le projet comporte une double dimension : l observation et la recherche d une part et le développement et l action, d autre part. 27. L action consiste à construire des observatoires des mobilités qualifiées d Argentine, de Colombie et d Uruguay, dans un premier temps puis étendue à d autres pays de la région par la suite. Ces observatoires déboucheront rapidement, dès la deuxième des trois années du projet, sur la création d incubateurs de leurs diasporas d ingénieurs, chercheurs et autres talents. Des dispositifs techniques, organisationnels, financiers et administratifs seront, en effet, développés et diffusés pour effectuer des reconnexions systématiques et productives des expatriés. Les incubateurs sont conçus comme des structures légères, partiellement virtuelles, regroupant ces dispositifs pour en faciliter l accès aux expatriés et à leurs réseaux ainsi qu aux détenteurs locaux de compétences appelés à circuler tout en maintenant le lien. L émergence de ces structures sera promue dans les pays d origine mais aussi dans les principaux lieux d accueil de leurs migrants, en Europe. 28. Le projet entend développer les activités suivantes de façon successive et combinée: un dénombrement général et détaillé des populations expatriées hautement qualifiées, en ayant recours à des données locales et européennes essentiellement mais en perspective avec celle de l Amérique du Nord également ; une prise de contact avec tous les expatriés localisés et identifiés, en vue de tester enfin de façon systématique leur motivation et la propension à conformer des diasporas, et de les informer des possibilités de reconnexion avec le pays ; 122

127 Round Table: Relevant information on labour migration policies une identification précise de tous les réseaux et associations diasporas constitués, et de leurs noeuds locaux dans les pays européens et américains ; une analyse de leurs fonctionnements, dynamiques, activités et résultats, en suivant en parallèle leur évolution sur les 3 années du projet et leur réactivité aux mesures qui seront prises à leur égard ; une évaluation des expériences passées et leur comparaison avec les nouvelles, vécues par les réseaux diasporas de l Argentine, la Colombie et l Uruguay ; la promotion de plateformes informatiques appelées à se développer dans les nouvelles versions du web, et dont les nouvelles fonctionnalités (interactivité, stockage, multimedia) ouvrent des possibilités prometteuses aux communautés dispersées, la promotion également de modalités de gouvernance opérationnelles pour ces diasporas, avec un rôle accru de l Etat facilitateur et stratège, intervenant au travers d une pluralité d institutions préalablement informées et instruites ; des recommandations et des formations pour les organisations publiques chargées dans ces pays de gérer la mobilité de leurs ressortissants, les apports qu ils peuvent faire et les risques de certaines défections et pénuries de ressources humaines Figure 7 : Diagramme du projet CIDESAL Création d incubateurs de diasporas du savoir en Amérique Latine 123