Category: Discussion Board 3

A common theme that appeared in the article was migrating in hopes of having more or better opportunities that would improve the quality of life. I don’t really talk to people much or watch too many movies so this topic is pretty new to me. However I do remember hearing of things like wanting to move to the United States because they believed their life would be easier. I never understood the phrase “life would be easier” which is probably why it stuck with me the most. Reading articles such as this made me realize that number of factors could contribute to migration however it is not exactly easy here. There are many struggles that come with migrating and migrating to the United States isn’t an exception. It could also be because of the environment or economic status or possibly even better education. Yet the fact still remains that in many portrayals of migrations to the U.S the main driving force, (or at least one of the many factors) is to better their life quality and opportunities. 

This actually falls in line with many points that Yang was writing about. However, I have never met or had personal experience about the push and pull theory that have to do with the second hand labor. Through the studies of history it is apparent that the driving force is improvements. Whether it be economical bonus, political, education, or freedom many individuals and families uprooted their life for a chance at something better. Even using the migration as an escape for their current problems.

Another possibility could be marriage regarding same sex couples because it is frowned upon or not legal in many countries yet. It is harder for the LGBTQ community for being punished or looked down upon just for their choices. After all were all human and deserve to experience the same right as everyone else. Other than the ability to marry, Yang had many bases covered and did an amazing job at describing the different theories and reasons for migrating.

What I hear about the common explanations for why people migrate to the United States is many parents want to give their children to get a better education. One of my relatives came to the United States when he was 20-years-old because his father was an immigrant. At first, his father chose to go to the United States because he just had a fantasy of the United States. At that time, immigration was almost to the United States because it has more opportunity to get a better job and education.
According to Yang theory, migration happens because push factors which are natural disasters, population pressures and pull factors which are economic opportunities, political preferences. I knew that poor people are migrant to rich country like United States to get a better life. However, in accordance with Yang theory, poor people are less likely to migrate, and Immigrants are not poor people from the poorest places.

1.) One of the common explanations I hear about why people migrate to the United States is for a better life, as so many migrants in the past have said multiple times and to this day, still rings true. As the son of an Asian migrant myself, I was told this very reason as to why I barely saw my mom growing up. She provided not only for my dad and I but our extended family as well. This not only extends to just Asian migrants but migrants in general, especially going to a school like BMCC where I’ve met so many classmates who are migrants themselves, have come in order to further their education, and believe America is the key to their hopes and dreams coming true.

2.) Yang proposes the “Push and Pull theory” which ties in with these very factors since one of the examples of a push factor is economic hardships in which many countries today experience and as a result, countries that they view to be great, experience an influx of the number of migrants coming into the country. Such is the case in the 1840s where many Irish left their country due to the Potato Famine in search of a better life to provide for their family in the United States and Great Britain. As for the pull factor, in the example, I brought up, it was the hope for better crops due to the famine they were experiencing back home in Ireland.

3.)Finally, there is no additional “cluster of factors” that I would add to Yang’s theory since the majority of them were sound and reinforced his points very well.

One explanation I heard from my boyfriend was an example of migration initiated by a kinship network and driven by educational disparity. His grandfather’s sister sponsored his grandfather’s family to migrate to the U.S. from Hong Kong so that the children would be more likely to attain higher education. This occurred after 1965, so the change in policy lifting restrictions on Asian immigration was also necessary for their immigration to be possible.  An example I can think of from my own family was when my grandfather, a Trinidadian of Indian descent, ran away from home in part because of a lower quality of life, the intercountry economic disparity motivating the immigration. A connection that allowed this migration to even be possible was that as Trinidad was a British colony, he could speak English, which facilitated his opportunities in the U.S.

I feel that Yang’s “multilevel causation theory,” his universal theory encompassing past, present, micro, and macro level connections, corresponds well to these explanations. In fact, his theory helps us explore our families’ journeys. Factors that were explicit, such as disparities or kinship sponsoring, and those that were implicit, like the changes in the law or language-based connections, come together to make these narratives clearer and coherent. However, I think it would be good to expand on religious factors, such as churches being an institution based social network, which can act to both sustain immigration and initiate it. For example, the Mormon church, which I was a member of, sends missionaries to Asian countries for converts. Often, these new converts feel the need to move to Utah, to adopt Mormon customs and traditions more closely, or otherwise to avoid being the only Mormons in the social circle of their hometown. Yang might describe Mormonism’s impact on these converts as strengthening their ideological linkages with American society or reducing their social distance with Americans, meanwhile social distance between themselves and people of their homeland can simultaneously increase because of their conversion.

 

1. To be honest it is safe to safe everyone who has migrated all have their own reasons on why they decide to migrate to the united stated with their family or on their own. everyone’s reasoning is unique in each way but the main reasons people have migrated to the United States was mainly for another opportunity in life & to make sure their family gets a better education compared to the one they have in their actual country. In addition I have also heard of people wanting to leave the country they’re currently in because of how dangerous it is and they would like to make sure they are safe with the rest of their family. However when it comes to Asian migration   I was personally told by a friend in college that her family migrated to the United States for the amount of opportunities they had over here, which was a better environment and a chance to become successful or at least comfortable, Which In her family’s case it worked & both of her parents became certified surgeons. On top of that she is also on the road to become a therapist which just goes on to show how far migrating to the United States can actually get you. Personally I was also told by my own father he migrated from the Dominican Republic over to NYC to start his own business. He stated how difficult it was & how it took him steps to actually get to where he is now. From being homeless to having to introduce himself to specific people, he eventually ended up making it happened and opened up his own business around 1998 to be able to bring my mom and sisters over to NYC, which lead to me being the first ever born from our family in NYC. Yang’s theory proves the fact that people tend to migrate from poor countries because they need a restart button in life, such as better education or to get away from natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes etc. Other clusters I would add to yang’s theory is the fact people tend to leave their country because sometimes they’re being hunted for by gang members which can also lead to their family being put at risk which is a totally understandable reason on why someone would want to leave their country. Another theory I would add to yang’s theory is religious freedom, since I am aware that some countries do not let women do or dress a certain way because of their religion and if they do not follow it they will either get abused or killed unfortunately.

Some of the common explanations for why people migrate to the unites states is “for a better life.” America to foreign nations has always been seen as a land of opportunities, and for those who are poor and poverty stricken in their countries, this is seen as a land of riches for them. Those who migrate here look for a better quality in life, and are often met with the opposite in the beginning. My parents had migrated here, originally because they had won a lottery ticket to migrate here from their country, but had decided to stay because they thought initially America could possibly improve their quality of life from what it was like back in Pakistan. They quickly realized that wasn’t true, and they had struggled greatly at first in this country, I’d say even more than in their country. However this is also seen in media such as movies as America has always been portrayed as the land of the great with amazing opportunities and etc. For many reasons, people often want to migrate here to gain those “amazing” opportunities that are talked of.

These explanations compare to the theory that Yang puts forth which is the push and pull theory. There is an initial reason to why people wish to migrate here. These reasons include economic issues back in their own countries, political issues, natural disasters, environmental issues, religious freedom, poverty etc. People then migrate to the US, in a hope to escape these issues, and hope for an improved quality of life.

Another “cluster of factors” I would add to Yang’s theory is that many people also leave their countries due to same sex relationships being illegal or taboo. Many foreign nations, such as in predominantly Muslim nations, same sex relationships are illegal and those who participate in it can be severely punished. For that reason as well, people tend to leave their countries to escape this type of discrimination and persecution.

I believe the common explanations for people migrating to the United States are well known by us all. The reasons  can be for  increased opportunity, increased quality in life, family, etc. Yang’s theory of Asian immigration is because of push factors. For example natural disasters, population pressures, economic hardships, political disturbances, and lastly environmental disadvantages. Also,”according to this theory, the poorest
countries should have the highest level of emigration because push factors
are the strongest there.” I have seen shows like 90 day fiance where they come to America to find love for themselves or family. Another example someone might leave , is if the person is part of the LGBT+ community, as it can be illegal in some Asian countries or if their family does not approve of them and leave at their own choice. Yang states “differences between the homeland and a foreign land in economic, political, social, and environmental conditions or in life chances.” These are some examples of why people immigrate to different countries like America. Other clusters I would add to Yang’s theory would be religious freedom and like I said previously LGBT+ and gender freedom. People in countries like Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are being thrown in jail because of who they are and what they are sexual attract to.

I think the common explanations for people migrating to the United States are well known by us all. Usually it’s something along the lines of something they lacked in their home country that is available here. This can be reasons like increased opportunity, increased quality in life, family, etc. This is definitely a theme that is prevalent in media such as films and books, but I have also personally met immigrants or family members of immigrants who have testified them to be true. One movie I remember seeing, ‘The Good Lie’, was about several people who emigrated from a refugee camp in Africa after a civil war. The person I interviewed told me her mother’s family migrated to the United States due to a war happening where they are from. 

This definitely aligns with the foundation of Yang’s theory, the part he calls push and pull. There obviously needs to be some sort of incentive for people to move their whole lives to a new country – something different about the two countries. I met a chinese student in BMCC who told me he came to America because of more available education, as he wasn’t able to get into college in China. This is just another example of one of the many  possible push-pull factors that Yang mentions – accessibility of education. 

For the most part, I think Yang devised a pretty solid theory that fully explains the conditions that lead to immigration. The push-pull serves as the foundation and motivator, but then there still needs to be some sort of bridge between the two countries. Something that may often be overlooked, he’s also right in pointing out that there can be many social relationships that are factors in causing someone to immigrate.

I am in an immigrant family, and sometimes I do not understand why my family chooses to immigrate to the United States. My parents told me that they chose to come to the United States because they wanted me and my sister to get a better education. It is well known that the education in the United States is better than other countries. Of course, my parents also want more job opportunities. But when I was watching some movies or videos, I found that people in many countries chose to immigrate because of war or persecution, and this also occupies a large proportion.

According to Yang’s description, people from other countries immigrated to the United States mainly because of natural disasters, population pressure, economic difficulties in their country of origin, political turmoil or interference, environmental disadvantages and other reasons.

I will add “clusters of factors” in Yang’s article because many countries do not allow gay marriage, so these people may choose to immigrate. In addition, the issue of religion belongs to a large ethnic group. So these can be factors for their immigration.

• Some explanations or reasons I hear people migrate to other countries and the U.S in particular is because they want a better life away from turmoil back in  their countries. For example strict governments/ corrupt government, persecution, economic hardships, political turmoil, and natural disasters. As I mentioned before Asians migrate to other countries or come to the U.S because the government over there don’t give them as much freedom that they are originally born with, according Yeonmi Park she escaped North Korea in search of freedom saying “There’s no internet, they are not allowed to sing, wear, or think what they want.” Also that “North Korea is the only country in the world that execute people for making unauthorized international phone calls.” Beyond Asian migrants, there are Haitian migrants that were forced into exile, speaking of someone in my family that was forced to leave as a punishment, then had to leave the next country because of economic distress and political disorder. I would say that these explanations are like confirmations to the theories that Yung put forth.
• Other ‘clusters of factors” that would add to Yung’s theories about why Asians are migrating could because of their religions some are being kept in detention camps for example Muslims in China’s detention centers. Also people migrate because of their sexualities, some countries forbids same-sex marriage, these could be reasons why people leave for a better life.