immigration in india essay

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Origin of World’s Largest Migrant Population, India Seeks to Leverage Immigration

Source : MPI artist rendering.

Over time, the Indian government has built multiple systems for engaging with its emigrant population and the many descendants who call India their ancestral home. Money sent as remittances represents a prime tactic for improving financial conditions and diversifying risk, particularly in rural households. The estimated U.S. $87 billion in official remittances received in India in 2021 represented the world’s largest such flow and amounted to nearly 15 percent of all global transfers to low- and middle-income countries, according to the World Bank. India has also sought to capitalize on the skills and training well-educated workers acquire abroad, including by easing the path for them and their descendants to return to India or otherwise invest in its development. As an example, many college-educated emigrants who gained experience in Silicon Valley and other tech hubs subsequently used their ties to create a thriving information technology sector in Bangalore.

However, many Indians with low levels of education have repeatedly been targeted by deceptive or abusive foreign employers, particularly in the Middle East. This situation has prompted government efforts to protect Indians employed abroad, including by trying to certify recruitment agents.

India is also a significant country of immigration, with nearly 4.9 million foreign-born residents in 2020, mostly from elsewhere in South Asia. Immigration has been trending downward in recent years, but it continues to play a prominent role in national political debates and has stirred tensions with neighboring Bangladesh.

This country profile provides an overview of international migration from and to India, including developments during the colonial era and more recent government policies and initiatives. Indian migrants have played prominent roles in destination countries across the world and are an important asset for their native country, in which they have invested significant amounts of money and other resources.

Historical Overview of International Migration from India

India’s status as the world’s largest migrant-origin country is despite the presence of caste barriers, extended family arrangements, traditional values, low nationwide levels of education, and the predominance of semi-feudal relationships—all of which might suggest a disinclination towards international mobility. The country’s migration patterns are rooted in the British colonial era, which lasted until independence and partition with Pakistan in 1947. There are three major periods of emigration in this history that can be distinguished: emigration as the result of colonial design, including coercive movement of indentured laborers to other regions of the British empire; movement as the result of anti-colonial struggle and later the collapse of colonial rule; and more recent employment-driven migration, particularly to the Persian Gulf and wealthy Western countries. 

Colonial Rule and Indentured Servitude

Beginning in the early 19th century, rapid colonial growth created a significant need for workers on plantations and for road, building, and railroad construction projects. The abolition of slavery in the United Kingdom in 1833 represented a watershed moment in the plantation industry that created incentives for large numbers of Indians and others to be brought throughout the empire. Subsequent abolition of slavery in France and Denmark (1848) and the Netherlands (1863) contributed to an immediate labor shortage in plantation agriculture, particularly sugar production, and a significant drop in agricultural output. Colonial powers demanded a new workforce structure and came to rely on indentured laborers from India and elsewhere.

Peasants from India and other territories who signed up to become indentured laborers were moved to colonies throughout the empire in a coercive process known as the coolie system. The similar kangani system of recruiting was used in Malaya and Ceylon, in which an Indian migrant known as a kangani (an anglicized version of the Tamil word kankani , which means overseer or foreman) was paid by colonial overseers to recruit other Indians, be their minder, and offer them advances that often became debts. The maistry system in Burma was similar in many ways, except that it involved a hierarchy of middlemen-employers. In contrast to indentured laborers, workers were legally free under these arrangements. Still, laborers typically found themselves in a sort of quasi-slave trade.

In 1838, British Guiana became the first Caribbean territory to which the empire forced Indian workers to migrate. Imperial leaders later followed suit by sending Indians to other territories in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Millions of Indians went to Mauritius during this time, and more than 500,000 indentured Indian workers were transferred to the Caribbean between 1838 and 1917 (see Table 1).

Table 1. Indian Indentured Laborers Brought to Select European Colonies, Various Years

Sources : Kenneth L. Gillion and Kenneth Lowell Oliver Gillion, Fiji's Indian Migrants: A History to the End of Indenture in 1920 (London: Oxford University Press, 1962); S. Irudaya Rajan and Prabhat Kumar, “Historical Overview of International Migration,” in India Migration Report 2010: Governance and Labour Migration , ed. S. Irudaya Rajan (New Delhi: Routledge, 2010); G.W. Roberts and J. Byrne, “Summary Statistics on Indenture and Associated Migration Affecting the West Indies, 1834–1918,” Population Studies  20, no.1 (1966): 125-14; Hugh Tinker, The Banyan Tree: Overseas Emigrants from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977).

Indentured labor from India increased rapidly over time, due in part to colonialists’ initial perceptions that the laborers were adaptable to different agricultural conditions and had a hard-working nature. Although the system promised to provide them better economic opportunities, for most workers it turned out to be an exile into bondage, as they found one type of poverty simply replaced another.

Partition and Postwar Movement

The breakup of the British empire had dramatic consequences for India and other former colonies. At midnight on August 15, 1947, the territory that had previously been known as British India dissolved into the two self-governing dominions of India and Pakistan, prompting one of the world’s largest ever forced migrations. As many as 20 million people were displaced along religious lines as a result of the split, resulting in massive refugee movements as individuals, families, and communities trekked between the new countries. In the partitioned province of Punjab alone, 12 million people were displaced. This process of splitting and redrawing political boundaries was marked by horrific violence in large sections of northern India, particularly the Punjab region. Estimates vary, but as many as 1 million people were believed to have been killed and 50,000 women were abducted during the bloodshed.

In subsequent decades many Indians moved to the United Kingdom, especially from Punjab, following kinship and friendship ties. War-scarred Britain at the time was experiencing labor shortages, and as Commonwealth citizens, Indian nationals were able to move to the country without restriction. Migration to the United Kingdom became more difficult in subsequent years, as laws passed between 1962 and 1971 imposed new controls on movement from elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Still, as of 2020 India remained the largest country of birth for immigrants in the United Kingdom.

Labor Migration to the Middle East and West

The third wave of Indian emigration was primarily to the Gulf as a result of the region’s massive oil extraction and a construction boom beginning in the 1970s. Retail and construction trades such as carpentry, electrical wiring, and masonry have been popular for many migrants lacking postsecondary education, while those with higher levels of training have gone to sectors such as health care. Kerala, India's southernmost state, has accounted for most of the migration to the Middle East.

This third wave has also been comprised of doctors, engineers, financial professionals, and others heading to economically developed nations such as the United States. Worldwide, India has the highest number of emigrants with a postsecondary degree, with nearly 3.1 million residing in the 38 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as of 2016. China (2 million) and the Philippines (1.8 million) are other top countries of origin for migrants with tertiary degrees; combined these countries are the origins for one-fifth of all OECD immigrants with a tertiary education. The number of highly educated Indian emigrants more than doubled between 2000 and 2010.

India is now a top origin country for immigrants in the United States, with new arrivals from India and China outpacing those from Mexico since 2013. This growth has been made possible by the revocation in 1965 of national-origins quotas that had guided U.S. immigration policy since the 1920s and discriminated against Asians and others not from northwestern Europe. The introduction of the H-1B visa for skilled workers in 1990 was also important; Indian immigrants are regularly the top recipients of these visas. Indian immigrants in the United States tend to be highly educated and have higher incomes than the overall foreign- and U.S.-born populations.

Table 2. Indian Immigrants by Country of Destination, 2020

Source : United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Population Division, “International Migrant Stock 2020: Destination and Origin, Table 1: International Migrant Stock at Mid-Year by Sex and by Region, Country or Area of Destination and Origin,” accessed February 4, 2022, available online .

Many Indians have also emigrated for study. Nearly 589,000 Indians studied abroad in 2019, according to the Ministry of External Affairs, with slightly less than one-third of them going to the United States. Significant numbers also have gone to Australia, Canada, and other countries. However, Indian international enrollment dropped to 261,000 in 2020, amid the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many international students from India come from urban areas, the upper and middle classes, and various castes, with backgrounds in economics, engineering, management, and medicine.

Engagement with Indians Abroad

High rates of emigration have prompted fears about “brain drain,” which the government has committed to stemming by encouraging students and non-resident Indians (NRIs) to return to the country. India also has made overtures to persons of Indian origin (PIOs), who are noncitizens of Indian descent; the Ministry of External Affairs said there were 13.1 million PIOs globally as of 2018. The government’s 2005 introduction of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card permits former Indian citizens, their descendants, and citizens’ spouses to enjoy visa-free entry as well as other benefits such as a fast track to citizenship (people with links to Bangladesh and Pakistan are excluded from the scheme). 

World-Topping Remittance Transfers

One reason for the government’s efforts to engage with Indian emigrants is the sizable sums of money that they and their descendants send back. Remittances to India have ballooned in recent years, and the estimated U.S. $87 billion received through formal channels in 2021—driven in part by support from the diaspora and others during the pandemic, as well as higher oil prices and economic recoveries in countries of destination—represented a more than sixfold increase over 2001 (see Figure 2). This is far more than any other country in absolute numbers and a full 64 percent higher than the $53 billion each to China and Mexico, the next largest remittance receivers. Still, remittances account for a relatively small 3 percent share of India’s overall economy.

Figure 2. Remittances to India, 1975-2021

Note : Data for 2021 are projections as of November 2021. Sources: Dilip Ratha et al., Migration and Development Brief 35: Recovery: COVID-19 Crisis through a Migration Lens , (Washington, DC: KNOMAD-World Bank, 2021), available online ; World Bank Prospects Group, “Annual Remittances Data,” May 2021 update, available online .

In recent years, remittance transfers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—have accounted for more than half of all funds remitted to India. The United States was the origin of nearly one-fifth of remittances to India in 2021. 

The government has taken steps to encourage the inflow of remittances and other types of capital from the diaspora. Since the 1970s, NRIs have been able to keep money in special bank accounts in India, which have been an important source of the growth. At key moments in 1991, 1998, and 2000, the government also issued special bonds allowing NRIs and others to invest billions of dollars in the state. Economic liberalization since the 1990s has also played a role in the increasing remittance figures, as has the higher skill levels of recent emigrants. 

Protection of Indians Abroad

In recent decades, reports have revealed the widespread exploitation of Indians working in low- and semi-skilled jobs in other countries. In some cases, migrants have had to pay exorbitant recruitment charges, been underpaid or had their wages withheld, and been forced to surrender their passports and other documents to their employers—situations which have been compared to being held hostage. All the while, migrant workers have been forced to endure long hours, abusive treatment, and other poor conditions.

These types of incidents have prompted the government to intervene on behalf of migrants’ welfare. Since adoption of the Emigration Act of 1983, some low-educated emigrant workers referred to as having Emigration Check Required (ECR) status, often including domestic workers and those in construction, have needed to obtain clearance from a government office before leaving the country, and foreign companies have needed to obtain certification before recruiting Indians. The law also attempts to cap service fees charged by recruiters. Emigration checks are only required for certain workers heading to specific countries primarily in the Middle East, which critics have said is part of a shortsighted focus that failed to consider how flows would diversify. Multiple lawsuits have also claimed that the government’s protections are ineffective, particularly with regards to the many recruitment agents who operate illegally.

Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs circulated draft legislation known as the Emigration Bill 2021, which would replace the 1983 law and alter the recruitment process for foreign work. It was designed to give the government more power and resources to engage with emigrants and serve as their watchdog, including through new a new bureaucratic structure. The new effort has faced criticism, however, for allowing migrant workers to face penalties, failing to limit workers’ fees for recruitment, and remaining silent on issues such as physical and sexual abuse faced by female migrants. Some advocates have instead pushed for a comprehensive rewrite of the law that would more explicitly resemble global ambitions such as those of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Immigration to India

India has for centuries been a popular destination for international migrants, with nearly 4.9 million foreign-born residents as of 2020, making it the 14th top destination country globally, although immigrants account for less than 0.4 percent of its 1.4 billion people. As far back as approximately 1500 BCE, nomadic pastoral Aryans from the Eurasian steppes arrived on the Indian subcontinent and territory inhabited by the native Dravidian people. They gradually spread across northern India, sometimes conquering existing populations and other times quietly assimilating, giving birth to the Vedic civilization. Empires including those of Alexander the Great, the Kushans of Central Asia, Muslim Sultans, Persians, the Portuguese, the Moghuls, and lastly the British governed land now known as India until its independence. Scholars, merchants, and other travelers also arrived through the centuries, seeking knowledge, wealth, and more.

Tens of thousands of British nationals and other Europeans moved to India in the 19th century under the umbrella of the East India Company, the British military, and a booming commercial trade. By 1901, nearly 170,000 Europeans were recorded as living in India, almost 61,000 of them soldiers (see Table 3). Many Europeans intended to remain in India only temporarily, with plans to leave after fulfilling military duties, earning sizable wealth, or accomplishing other pursuits. Anthropologist Bernard Cohn’s interest in the formation of empire as an intellectual and cultural phenomenon demonstrated how significant British innovations in India, such as tax and judicial systems, resulted in major structural changes in Indian social interactions.

Table 3. European Migrants in India, 1871-1901

Source : Peter J. Marshall, “British Immigration into India in the Nineteenth Century,” Itinerario 14, no.1 (1990): 25-44.

This flow changed following independence and partition with Pakistan. The great bulk of India’s immigrants now come from neighboring countries in South Asia, stemming from extended interpersonal and economic ties during colonial and pre-partition eras (see Table 4). Many immigrants have moved near commercial and agricultural centers, contributing to enormous urbanization that has come to define contemporary India, which is home to some of the largest cities in the world.

Table 4. Immigrants in India by Country of Origin, 2020

Source : United Nations DESA, Population Division, “International Migrant Stock 2020: Destination and Origin, Table 1: International Migrant Stock at Mid-Year by Sex and by Region, Country or Area of Destination and Origin,” accessed February 4, 2022.     

The number of immigrants in India, who come primarily from Bangladesh, has declined significantly in recent decades, from nearly 7.6 million in 1990 to approximately 4.9 million in 2020, according to United Nations figures. One possible explanation is ballooning economic growth in Bangladesh, which at times has outpaced India’s and may dampen migration impulses. Bangladesh’s migration patterns also have diversified, with more nationals headed to the Middle East and other destinations.

Unauthorized Population and Issues of National Identity

A potentially very large number of immigrants live without legal status, with Bangladesh being the major source. Estimates vary and are not necessarily reliable, but the government in 2016 claimed that as many as 20 million Bangladeshis lived in India in irregular status, which would likely be the largest such population globally (the government has since acknowledged it did not have accurate data to back up this assertion). A registry of citizens in the northeast border state of Assam published in 2019, part of a process intended to identify unauthorized Bangladeshi immigrants, excluded 1.9 million people who could not adequately prove they had arrived in the state prior to Bangladesh’s 1971 split from Pakistan.

As in many countries with sizable unauthorized populations, India has seen significant political debate in recent years over irregular immigration. Some of these issues came to the fore with the controversial 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which makes faith a consideration for citizenship applications and grants a fast track to non-Muslim applicants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The CAA was ostensibly designed to protect minority groups in these countries, but it was greeted with a chorus of protests and allegations that it was an attempt by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to advance a Hindu nationalist vision of the country. India has no formal refugee system, although it was home to slightly more than 244,000 refugees and asylum seekers in 2020, mostly from Tibet and Sri Lanka. Researchers such as Stephen Croucher have highlighted the history of Muslim immigration in country, and how religious Hindus have tended to be threatened by and have less contact with Muslims.

What Next? Prospects of Plateauing Population and Changing Migrant Flows

India has long been a major source of emigrants, particularly migrant laborers. Whether as indentured workers in European colonies, builders in the Persian Gulf, or software coders in Silicon Valley, Indian migrants have had a significant impact on both their origin country and their places of destination. India’s world-topping receipt of remittances is notable, and the government has made efforts to safeguard its expatriate workers while also forging tighter bonds with them and the diaspora.

India has the world’s largest diaspora. With 17.9 million Indian-born people living abroad and 13.1 million who call India their ancestral home, the country must continue to consider the potential impact migration may have on its development and growth. Demographers project that India will overtake China to become the world’s most populous country in the next few years. However, findings of a major population survey released in 2021 showed that the country’s total fertility rate for the first time dipped slightly below replacement level, which could have implications for the government’s approach to emigrant workers and members of the diaspora. In addition, there are now 1,020 women for every 1,000 men in India—the first time that women have outnumbered men and the result of regulations aimed at reducing sex-selection practices and female infanticide, as well as women’s longer lifespans. The improving gender ratio demonstrates the success of women's empowerment policies in country a country with longstanding and strong son preference.

Meanwhile, the characteristics of Indian emigration are changing, reflecting divisions within the country. Southern states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been traditional sources of migrant workers to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, leaving on ECR passports requiring prior government authorization. However, northern and less economically advanced states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have in recent years overtaken their southern counterparts as the major origins of typically low-skilled, young men leaving for overseas work. The number of migrants from Kerala, where the fertility rate is even lower than for the country as a whole, declined from around 80,000 in 2011 to fewer than 25,000 in 2017.

As the world’s top migrant-origin country and home to several million immigrants, India is a major player in international migration. The recent circulation of a draft replacement to the Emigration Act of 1983 suggests that the government is interested in rethinking its role and modernizing the regulatory environment. One option would be to leave oversight in the hands of an independent market regulator and allow the private sector to provide market-driven services. Efforts to combat irregular migration will also be important, as will increased regular pathways for skilled workers to find employment abroad, particularly in target countries where labor may be required for years to come.

Among India’s biggest challenge is figuring out how to translate its demographic transformation into economic opportunity, for Indian residents as well as emigrants and members of the diaspora. As a rapidly developing economic power with a relatively young population, India plays a crucial role in international labor markets and foreign-worker schemes. History shows that it has filled this position for more than a century; even as the country changes, Indian migrants will likely continue to work abroad for years to come.

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Home » Security Issues » Extremism » Illegal immigration in India’s northern and eastern borders

Introduction

Of all kinds of migration, illegal migration has become the most volatile and contentious issue in Indian polity today because of the socio-political conflicts it has brought in its wake. Illegal migration comprises of people across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country.

From the eastern borders, Bangladeshi illegal immigration has changed the demography of northeast especially Assam. More recently, there has been an influx of Rohingyas who are prosecuted in the Myanmar. From the northern borders, mainly persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan and Afghanistan have come to India. Often it has posed a security threat for India, especially in Kashmir where militants infiltrate through Line of Control.

Issue of illegal immigration into India

• Increasing pressure on land and mounting unemployment in Bangladesh due to steep rise in population. Porous India-Bangladesh border of 4,096 kms is also another major factor.
• Stagnant Economic Growth and Lack of Employment: Industrialisation in India’s neighbouring countries has not been able to keep pace with the growing labour force and as a result, the unemployment rate is declining. The working-age people who are unable to find jobs in the country look outside for employment opportunities.
• Illegal voters: Most of the Bangladeshi immigrants have got their names enlisted in the voting list illegally, thereby claiming themselves as citizens of the state.
• Religious Discrimination: In Bangladesh, the already discriminatory land laws were further manipulated by vested interest groups and corrupt administrators to dispossess and alienate the Hindus from their own land and property. Religion has a particular effect in the case of the Rohingya
• Pakistan’s state sponsored terrorism: Militants and people are infiltrating into Kashmir to create unrest and keep India embroiled in the decades long issue posing the biggest security threat.
• Issue of terrorism: Pakistan’s ISI has been active in Bangladesh supporting militant movements in Assam. It is alleged that among the illegal migrants there are also militants, who enter into Assam to carry out the terrorist activities.

Measures needed

• Diplomatic Effort: India has to make diplomatic effort to get Bangladesh to cooperate as illegal migration cannot be solved unless origin country cooperates. Sharing of digital database of its citizens will make it easier.
• Better Border Management: Fencing, construction of border roads and proper management of border will make a difference. Like engaging in proactive patrolling of the India-Bangladesh and India- Myanmar international borders.
• Unique Identification Number (UID) scheme: Compilation of data is likely to reduce the comfort level of fresh illegal migrants.
• Bar from Voting rights: Bangladeshi who are already in could be allowed to work but should not be allowed to vote and this will diminish their ability to influence government decisions by being a political force.
• Use of regional forums: Forums like BIMSTEC can be used to discuss issues like illegal migration from neighbouring countries and garnering support and coordination from the members.
• Dispute resolution: Government should resolve pending border disputes with the neighbouring countries, as they later become matters of national-security threat.
• No diversion of security forces: The border-guarding force should not be distracted from its principal task and deployed for other internal security duties. For eg- Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a force specifically trained for India- China border should not be used in the Naxalite-infested areas.
• Involvement of army: It is felt that the responsibility for unsettled and disputed borders, such as the LoC in J&K and the LAC on the Indo-Tibetan border, should be that of the Indian Army while the BSF should be responsible for all settled borders.

Illegal migration into India has continued unabated since independence . As lakhs of undocumented migrants fleeing either politico-religious persecution or economic deprivation crossed the border and settled in the border states of India, it created conflict between the host population and the immigrants. Thus, it is important to tackle the issue of illegal migration very carefully in order to safeguards India’s interests.

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Legal Rights of Migrant People in India

31 Pages Posted: 5 May 2020

Abhishek Pandey

Galgotias University, School of Law

Date Written: April 10, 2020

This research paper is designed in a respect of legal rights of migrant people in India. A brief description about the origin, historical background, modern trends, issues and also international scenario of migrant people and their legal rights available in international reference is provided herein. Certain research problems like root cause of migration, challenges faced by the migrants in and out of their country and issues related to effective domestic laws in India are also discussed. Framing and implementation of effective policies towards migrant people taking international obligations to which India is a subject is also viewed. Hence, the basic design of this research work is to provide an idea and related information about who the migrants are and what are their causes of migration along with the legal rights available to them in India. Major finding and related aspects of legal rights are emphasized to a great extent which leads to the overall and general information regarding legal rights of migrant people in India. The paper recommends that the government should focus on improving the synergy between migration and development policies. Along with this, the paper also provides certain measures that can be taken so as to better the situations of the migrants in India.

Keywords: Legal rights, Migrant people, Migration, India

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• Original Article
• Open access
• Published: 03 November 2021

Challenges of reverse migration in India: a comparative study of internal and international migrant workers in the post-COVID economy

• Asma Khan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6008-8006 1 &
• H. Arokkiaraj 2  

Comparative Migration Studies volume  9 , Article number:  49 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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In India, the major drivers of both internal and international migration are the prevailing unemployment, competitive labour market and enhanced livelihood prospects in the destination state or country. However, the nationwide lockdown and the sealing of inter-state and international borders to control the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the reverse migration of informal migrant workers. This requires the central and state governments to collectively forge strategies to enable their reverse migration and smooth reintegration in the post-COVID economy. In this paper, we have focused on the inter-state migrants in India and returnee migrants only from Gulf countries as they account for two-thirds of Indian migrants living abroad. This study conducted a comparative analysis of the Indian government’s varied approach towards its internal and international migrants during their reverse migration, repatriation and reintegration after the announcement of the lockdown. Firstly, the paper compares the challenges faced by internal and international migrant workers during these stages with the help of in-depth interview data collected from migrants and social workers. Secondly, the varied governmental responses towards their repatriation are discussed. Thirdly, it analyses the obstacles in their economic reintegration to help frame suitable welfare policies for the Indian migrant community.

Introduction

India has a predominant share of internal migration and is also the top origin country of international migrants (De, 2019 ; UNDESA, 2020 ). The Indian Census (2011) data calculated the total number of internal migrants accounting for inter and intra-state movement to be 450 million, an increase of 45% since the Census 2001 (De, 2019 ). The Economic Survey of India 2017 estimated the inter-state migrant population as 60 million and the average annual flow of migrants between states was calculated at 9 million between 2011 and 2016 (Sharma, 2017 ). Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan are among the major origin states, while Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu are among the important destination states for these migrant workers (Kamal, 2018 ).

India has the largest diaspora (18 million) with the number of migrant workers in Gulf countries alone accounting for 8.4 million (Ministry of External Affairs, 2021 ; UNDESA, 2020 ). Among the Gulf countries, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are the top most favoured destination countries for the Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories from India. Footnote 1 India is also amongst the largest recipient of remittances at USD 78.6 billion (International Organisation for Migration, 2020 ). In recent years, the low-skilled labour outflows to Gulf countries from relatively poorer states such as UP, Bihar and West Bengal has increased substantially while those from more prosperous states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have reduced (Sasikumar & Thimothy, 2015 ). Poor wage rates in less prosperous states, persistent wage inequalities between regular and casual workers and lack of formal employment opportunities leads to low-skilled and semi-skilled workers migrate overseas to enhance their economic well-being (Karan & Selvaraj, 2008 ; Sasikumar & Thimothy, 2015 ). Owing to the infrastructural development and growing demand in important sectors of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the reliance on low-skilled or semi-skilled workforce (which constitutes around 85% of the total workforce predominantly engaged in construction and service sector) from India and other Asian and African countries will remain high (GIZ and ILO, 2015 ).

Migration thus gives an optimistic livelihood strategy for migrant workers and their families, contributes to the economic growth of the destination state/country, while the origin state/country benefits from the remittances and the skills acquired during their migration. Migrants from Kerala, a southern state in India, earn high wages as high-skilled workers in the Gulf, allowing them to remit more (Rajan & Zachariah, 2020 ). Even though labour migration compensates for labour shortages in the destination states/countries, workers employed in the low-skilled, labour-intensive sectors suffer malpractices such as wage-related abuse, working overtime without compensation, lack of social security cover and lack of protection during recruitment and employment (Srivastava, 2013 ; International Organisation for Migration, 2020 ). This points to the vulnerable position of these migrant workers which was heightened further during the COVID-19 crisis.

On 24th March 2020, in order to contain the virus, a strict nationwide lockdown was imposed by India with immediate sealing of the inter-state and international borders within four hours of its announcement. This shocked the unprepared migrant workers, both internal and those working abroad. Similarly, with the spread of COVID-19, the Gulf economy was also halted which led to migrant workers being stranded without food, livelihood, safe place to stay and being desperate to return to India. The lack of governmental planning to ensure the well-being of migrant workers within India and abroad led to a “crisis within a crisis”. In this context, this study conducts a comparative analysis of the challenges of reverse migration of India’s internal and international migrant workers. Three major research questions have been covered a) what are the economic and social challenges during their reverse migration, b) what are the varied governmental responses towards the repatriation of both the categories of migrant workers and c) what is the process of economic integration for the reverse migrants. This paper is divided into five parts. First, the introductory part which provides a basic overview of internal migration within India and international migration from India. The second part explains the research methodology and the third consists of the primary findings presented in a comparative manner in accordance with the research questions. The fourth part consists of the analysis which examines the common themes emerging from the experiences of the internal and international migrants from India. The fifth part provides a brief conclusion for this study.

Research methodology

In order to study the three research questions mentioned above, telephonic interviews with 65 reverse migrants were conducted during May–August 2020 in India. Table  1  presents the profile of the reverse migrants interviewed for this study. Internal migrants belonging to Indian states such as Bihar, UP, MP, Odisha and Chhattisgarh who had returned from the destination states such as Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra were interviewed. Only reverse international migrants from Gulf countries were contacted as a majority of Indian workers are employed in this region. All the workers covered under this study belong to the low-skilled and semi-skilled workers category. A list of contacts of these migrants was prepared with the help of social workers and other researchers working with them. Telephonic interviews, which proved to be the most appropriate method due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, with all the migrants have been written as notes and analysed. The snowball sampling method was adopted at a stage where communication was established with some migrants who connected us to other returnees. Further, interviews with labour migration experts and social workers in Delhi and UP, who have worked closely with the migrants, during the lockdown were conducted and guidance from labour migration experts was sought. Interviews were semi-structured and involved key themes covered in the research questions. The interviews were carried out in Tamil and Hindi, which were the preferred languages of the migrants. In order to protect their identities, pseudonyms have been used to refer to the migrants.

Further, this research did not attempt to offer representative samples, rather it aimed to provide narratives of the experiences and challenges faced by the migrants during their reverse migration, repatriation and reintegration. The method of narrative analysis was employed to provide a qualitative understanding of the subjective perceptions and experiences of the reverse migrants during the pandemic which may not be adequately captured by statistics. A comparative analysis of the interviews of the internal and international migrants was done to identify the differences and the common challenges faced by the Indian migrant community during a crisis which needs urgent attention during policy making and implementation.

Some of the operational definitions used in this study are as follows. ‘Internal migrants’ refers to inter-state migrant workers who were stranded in different destination states within India. ‘International migrants’ refers to Indians who had migrated to one of the Gulf countries in search of work. The term ‘origin’ and ‘destination’ refers to one’s native place and place of work, respectively. The term ‘reverse migration’ refers to the process of internal and international migrants returning to their place of origin from the destination state/countries. The term ‘economic reintegration’ refers to finding stable employment at one’s origin state. Low-skilled workers includes migrants who are commonly understood as ‘unskilled workers’.

Findings of the study

This section consists of the primary findings arranged thematically to highlight the various challenges faced during the reverse migration, repatriation and reintegration of both the categories of migrant workers. Under each subheading, first the narratives of the internal migrants are presented followed by those of international migrants. In the next section, a comparative analysis of the findings is done and some common problem areas emerging from the findings have been delineated.

Economic challenges during reverse migration

Due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown, the working class, especially the low-income migrant workers, have been the worst affected (Pandey, 2020 ). They were retrenched in large numbers, were rendered unemployed with their wages unpaid in the destination states which forced them to return to their origin states. Lokesh, one of our respondents and a construction worker who returned from Karnataka to Odisha, the lack of employment and wage theft pushed him to return to his native state during the lockdown. Similarly, Mahesh who was working in a hotel when the lockdown was imposed stated:

“I was in Delhi for the past 15 years… During the lockdown I was provided with full salary for March and very less salary for April. The salary for the month of May was unpaid. I cannot survive in Delhi on my savings without any job. So finally, I came back in the month of June to Bihar.”

A few internal migrants reported that they received work under the same employer/contractor after the lockdown but complained of non-payment of wages during the lockdown period. They were forced to return to their villages due to unpaid wages, no place to live with basic facilities such as electricity and water provided by the contractor/employer and no immediate governmental protection. While recalling the plight of these migrant workers, a social worker in Delhi explained how the migrants faced wage theft and retrenchment by their employers when the lockdown commenced, however, when the restrictions eased and industrial work resumed, they were ready to pay the workers. Such instances reveal how the migrant workers were treated as a means to an end and not as citizens whose welfare matters. However, there were a few internal migrants who had stayed back in Delhi, which was their destination state, even during the lockdown period. The reason they reported for not returning was lack of work in their village and that they still hold their jobs in Delhi. They also stated how their employers had arranged for a place to live on the construction premises, took care of the basic facilities like food, electricity and water supply and that they resumed work once the restrictions were lifted.

Similar despicable conditions were experienced by the Indian migrant workers in Gulf countries. There was an urgency to return to India among them caused by large-scale retrenchments due to the unplanned lockdown (Kumar & Akhil, 2021 ). Hassan, a driver by profession and the only earning member of his household, was one of the many workers retrenched by the private companies in UAE. He was forced to survive on his savings after returning to his native state Tamil Nadu. Wage theft was commonly reported by both internal and international migrants. Bala, a returnee from Oman to Tamil Nadu, reported how his employer did not pay him his due wages, retrenched him and did not even offer to cover the flight expenses to India. Arun, a construction worker, who returned from Kuwait to Tamil Nadu stated his plight:

“Along with me, three were working as helpers in a construction site. Since the lockdown the work was halted, and we were not getting paid. For a few days, the employer gave us food…Then he asked us to return to India as he has no money to take care of us. When we asked for our salary, he threatened us that he would file a false complaint to the police against us if we ask for money…”

However, a few international migrants reported that their employers paid their due wages, arranged for their return, got their Covid tests done and therefore did not face any problem as far as their return to their village was concerned. None of the respondents of this study were a part of trade unions.

Social challenges during reverse migration

This segment consists of the social challenges faced by migrants before and after the governmental repatriation. The migrants interviewed reported instances of discrimination against them and being viewed as the spreaders of the virus in the destination city/state, during their journey back home, in quarantine facilities and in their villages. Maitheli, who is a wife of a migrant construction worker, experienced stigmatization when returning from Maharashtra to her village in MP a week before the lockdown. She narrated:

“We started our journey before the lockdown in a bus as we had to attend a wedding in March… However due to the news of the spread of Covid, even then people were avoiding interactions with us… some people even placed a cloth to cover their mouth and nose while passing by…”

Rahul returning from Delhi to the state of Bihar reported his experience of caste-based discrimination at the quarantine centre. He explained how people belonging to the higher castes resided on the ground floor with all the facilities while those belonging to the lower castes were kept on the second floor without facilities. Another international migrant reported lack of basic facilities at the quarantine facility in UP and that his family had to provide him with food. This points to the gross neglect of the migrants and puts the entire rationale of quarantine and social distancing into question.

Amanatullah, an international migrant returning from Kuwait to UP reported how even after completing the quarantine period in both the origin and destination states with proper Covid testing done, the villagers, though temporarily, maintained their distance for a few weeks. The interviews revealed that the nature of discrimination in the villages ranged from physical distancing to isolation and hostility which included threats of cutting off supplies of basic necessities to the migrant workers and their families on the basis of mere suspicion of being infected with COVID-19. Dilip, a construction worker returning from UAE to his village in MP, also reported similar discrimination. However, when inquired about his sentiments regarding this, he also blamed the migrant workers for inviting such discrimination:

“Yes some villagers discriminated against us… It felt bad… but even the migrants are at fault as they hide their symptoms, escape the Covid tests and don’t follow the rules so somewhere or the other the villagers rightly set their distance with them since the nature of virus is dangerous...”

At the destination countries, the Indian migrant workers in Kuwait were stripped of their accommodation and were forced to resort to cramped shelters and unhygienic living spaces. Raju, described the despicable situation of Indian workers in Kuwait, where he had been staying under a shed in a nearby car parking space for the 2 weeks along with 150 more workers. Hailing mostly from Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, these migrant workers were getting limited support from a voluntary organization of one meal per day.

Since the international migrants had to incur their own travel fare during their repatriation, the interviewed returnees had inculcated a feeling of discrimination when compared to other Indian citizens who could afford the expenses to return to India. Most of them had limited financial resources which were insufficient to bear the cost of accommodation, food and return tickets. This category of migrants have low literacy level and have little to no bargaining power with their employers who retrenched them abruptly and alienated them in a foreign country.

Migrant workers’ mobility challenges

Initially, the central government was reluctant to rescue the stranded migrants both within and abroad, despite appeals from different stakeholders such as state governments, civil society and trade unions (Desai, 2020 ; Haider, 2020 ). Despite the strict mobility restrictions imposed by the government, the distressed internal migrants kept moving on foot or in unsanitary lorries or trucks towards their origin states due to their inability to sustain in the expensive urban areas (Rather & Yousuf, 2020 ). They faced numerous problems while attempting to cross state borders such as police brutality, grievous injuries with reports of even death due to exhaustion and dehydration (FPJ Bureau, 2020 ). There was a lack of coordination among the central and state governments resulting in contradictory stances while handling the mass migration (Rather & Yousuf, 2020 ). At the same time, the employers retrenched the migrant labourers as their businesses were shut due to the lockdown. This resulted in thousands being stranded on various inter-state borders such as Karnataka-Maharashtra and Delhi-Uttar Pradesh (Abi-Habib & Yasir, 2020 ). Rannvijay , a construction worker who returned from Delhi to Bihar, was rendered jobless and due to lack of proper transportation arrangements by the government, he had to travel back independently in a truck to his village. One of the social workers we interviewed described the desperate circumstances that the low-skilled workers had to face in Delhi due to the imposition of the sudden lockdown. He explained:

“Most of the workers stranded on the streets were from low-income groups and belonged to industries such as construction, restaurant, etc. Many workers were stranded on the streets with their families and were rendered jobless. Nobody was there to help them.”

There was an increased pressure from all the stakeholders as several petitions were filed in High Courts and the Supreme Court of India to rescue stranded migrants in various states/countries (Desai, 2020 ; NH Political Bureau, 2020 ). After one and a half month of the lockdown, the central government started Shramik (workers) special trains and local buses on the request of the state governments. From May 2020 onwards, 4621 Shramik special trains were operated for rescuing both stranded persons and migrants which transported 63.19 lakh (around 6 million) passengers to their origin states (Ministry of Railways, 2020 ). The Indian Railways allowed only those passengers to travel who were facilitated by the destination state governments. Given the lack of availability of latest data on internal migrants, the Indian government also launched the National Migrant Information System where details of the migrants commuting via the Shramik trains could be maintained for seamless communication between state governments and contact tracing if needed (Karthikeyan, 2020 ). There was widespread criticism against the central government for making the poor and distressed migrants pay for their ticket despite amassing huge amounts in the PM-CARES Fund established to provide emergency relief during the COVID-19 crisis. Following much confusion and a political tussle between the central and state governments regarding the sharing of travel expenses even when the special trains were running, the state governments later offered to cover their fare (Dhingra, 2020 ).

Interviews with migrants revealed the difficulties they faced while boarding the special train. Deepak, returning from Delhi to UP, reported that the passengers were not provided with food and water while other respondents reported that they were provided with one meal on a long journey. The train Deepak boarded left him at a place which was 84 kms away from his home. This experience was shared by a few other respondents where they had to cover the remaining distance on their own. Another complexity was related to the online ticket booking process since most of the migrants lacked access to and knowledge about digital technology. The information regarding the Shramik trains was advertised on digital media and the ticket could be booked only in online mode. One of the respondents highlighted how some migrants were unable to return due to their lack of awareness and inability to book the ticket online. Here it is important to emphasise the role played by NGOs and trade unions in the repatriation of migrants either by bus or special train. Yogesh, who returned from Karnataka to Chhattisgarh, described how the migrants who booked the tickets through exploitative agents paid an exorbitant fee:

“Some received help from their family members and friends. But a majority of the workers went back with the help of NGOs, trade unions and their employers. Those who went back with the help of travel agencies and dealers had to pay around 1500-2000 rupees in order to reach home.”

A number of senior academicians and civil society members had pointed towards the ineffective governmental efforts in spreading awareness about the contact details of the designated officials to help with the free online ticket booking and caution them against the exploitative third parties (Counterview, 2020 ). This resulted in a number of migrants being unable to return on their own or returning late or still walking on foot towards their origin state even when the trains were operating in comparison to those migrants who had the necessary resources and support.

Following appeals from various stakeholders and Indians stuck abroad, especially from the Gulf countries, the central government initiated the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) on 7th May, 2020. As per the data provided by the MEA, until 11th September, 2020, over 1,385,670 Indian nationals stranded abroad had been repatriated under the VBM (MEA, 2020 ). MEA provided a list of country-wise and category-wise registration list of stranded Indians in foreign countries (MEA, 2020a ). As per this list, Indian workers stranded in the Gulf were the highest amongst other categories requesting for their repatriation . As per the latest statistics available on 10th March, 2021, 3.25 million workers had been repatriated from the Gulf (MEA, 2021 ). The Kuwait government helped in repatriating the undocumented migrants back to India by paying for their amnesty flights and allowing these migrants to re-apply for their visa at a later date (Dutta, 2021 ).

In order to board a special flight, returnees from Gulf countries under VBM had to afford their own high-cost flight tickets as per the central government guidelines. Kumar, who worked as a driver in Kuwait, discussed his experience of availing the VBM flight during a telephonic conversation with the Indian Embassy in Kuwait as follows:

“First they asked for details like my name, where I worked, whether I am willing to go back home, they asked about the nature of my problem and after gathering the remaining details, they asked me whether I have the money to purchase the flight tickets. If I say ‘yes’ only then they were proceeding the call, if ‘no’ then they (may) disconnect the call. If I say ‘yes’ then they will ask me to undergo a COVID-19 test and fourteen days quarantine. If we agreed, only then they will inform us about the procedure to book the tickets and our name will be noted. Based on this, we can either go home or not.”

The above narration reveals the plight and vulnerability of the stranded Indian workers awaiting repatriation. Further, the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare had prescribed 14 days of mandatory quarantine for all international arrivals with the first 7 days to be spent in institutional quarantine (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2020 ). All the respondents of this study reported undergoing the COVID-19 tests and either institutional or home quarantine. It should be noted that for internal migrants, quarantine facilities and COVID-19 testing were state-sponsored. However, for international migrants, the expenses for institutional quarantine and COVID-19 testing had to be incurred by the passengers themselves (Srivastava, 2020 ). They could avail exemption from institutional quarantine but only by submitting a negative RT-PCR test result, which was also an expensive test. Thus, the international reverse migrants had to bear a major financial burden during the governmental repatriation and only those who could afford the high travel expenses could easily avail the VBM flights.

Process of economic reintegration of reverse migrants

Before discussing the experiences of the respondents with regard to their economic reintegration, we will mention the short-term and long-term measures taken by the central government to reintegrate the migrant workers in the post-COVID-19 economy. The central government announced a Rs 1.70 lakh crore (US$ 22.8 billion) relief package for the vulnerable sections which included categories of people who are migrants (Ministry of Finance, 2020 ). The central government urged the state governments to mobilize the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Fund which would benefit around 35 million construction workers registered under the Act (Ministry of Labour and Employment, 2020 ). However, it should be noted that there are an estimated 56 million workers in the construction sector (Nag and Afonso, 2021 ) .

Additionally, several state governments such as UP, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan announced one-time immediate cash benefits of Rs 1000 to 5000 (USD 13.59–67.12) and free rations through the Public Distribution System (PDS) (Anand and Thampi, 2020 ). Subsequently, after immense media attention, another relief package was announced of Rs. 20 lakh crores (USD 270 billion approx.) to benefit the migrant workers, self-employed and small traders. (Ministry of Finance, 2020a ). The scheme ‘ One nation one ration card’ was announced to be implemented across India in 2021 to enable migrants to access ration from any fair price shop in India using a digital card. Between April 1 and May 20, 2020, there was a sudden increase in the registrations (around 3.5 million workers) for MGNREGA, a rural employment scheme promising 100 days of work, pointing to increased need for employment (Chauhan, 2020 ).

It should be noted that such short-term relief packages by the central government were absent in the case of international migrants. Kerala was the only state in India which provided a one-time cash benefit of Rs. 5000 to them (Mathrubhumi, 2020 ) Also, the Kerala government aimed to help around 5000 Non-Resident Keralites under the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) Department Project for Returned Emigrants (NDPREM) scheme by offering Rs. 50 lakhs (USD 67,123) to each expat to facilitate their own business ventures (ET Bureau, 2020 ). Acknowledging the huge amount of remittances from the international migrants which benefitted the economy, Kerala also launched an exclusive integration programme called the ‘Dream Kerala Project’. It provides a platform for the business sector to tap the expertise of skilled human resources returning to Kerala after losing jobs abroad (Press Trust of India, 2020 ). The role of Kerala government in caring for its migrant community from organising community kitchens for stranded migrants to introducing long-term reintegrative measures has been praiseworthy.

As a long-term measure for the labour market integration of both internal and international reverse migrants, the central government announced a Rs 50,000 crore (USD 6.9 billion) ‘Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan’ which involved skill mapping of migrant workers and connecting women with self-help groups for enhancing employment opportunities. (Ministry of Rural Development, 2020 ). In view of the lack of data on internal migrants, the government also announced to conduct an All India Survey on Migrant Workers and develop a National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW), which would include details of the migrants such as name, occupation, address, educational qualifications and skill type, etc. in order to secure employability and social security benefits for the inter-state migrant workers (Ministry of Labour and Employment, 2021 ).

SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support), a joint initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the MEA, aimed to create a database of migrant workers based on their skill set and experience to fulfil the demands of Indian and foreign companies (Ministry of Civil Aviation, 2020 ). For facilitating employment opportunities, details of SWADES registrations were integrated with Skill India’s ASEEM (Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping) portal. As per the latest data, i.e. January 25th, 2021, more than 30,500 workers have registered for the SWADES Skill Card, out of which more than 24,500 are returnees from GCC countries (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2021 ). Further, all data regarding Indians returning under VBM was shared with the state governments.

The internal migrants interviewed reported a sparse coverage of the government relief package as only a few respondents received immediate cash benefits. Only half of the respondents from UP and Bihar received a one-time cash benefit while the remaining did not. Sudesh, a construction worker, reported that he received free ration which would sustain his family only for 15–20 days of a month. A survey of 11,000 migrant workers conducted in April 2020, by SWAN (Stranded Workers Action Network) reported that none of the workers had received ration by the government during the lockdown period (Pandey, 2020 ). Our study (conducted between May – August, 2020) revealed that half of the respondents were able to avail rations at their native states even though its quantity and duration varied from within and across states included in our study. Those who did not receive free ration reported that they did not have a ration card, or their name was not included in the family’s ration card or were not present to provide a thumb impression to the biometric machine as they migrated to other states hinting at the non-portability of benefits. The data of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs indicated that the free ration scheme had failed because almost 11 states distributed less than 1% of food grains allocated to them (Sharma, 2020 ). Also, an RTI revealed that barely 10% of the Rs. 20 lakh crore stimulus package was distributed (The Tribune, 2020 ). Almost all the respondents reported not receiving work under MGNREGA. Ram, a construction worker and a registered MGNREGA worker, who returned to his native state Bihar in June stated that:

“It has been in news that people who have migrated to Bihar shall be provided with employment. But I did not get work under MGNREGA ever since I returned to my village.”

As a result, they were unable to find secure employment in their villages and were willing to remigrate to the urban areas or work under the same contractor/ employer who were unsupportive towards them when the lockdown commenced (Kumar, 2020 ). Amongst the international migrants interviewed, almost all of them were willing to remigrate abroad once the restrictions eased both in India and at the destination countries. Prem, one of the international migrants from MP, spoke about his desperation to remigrate to cover debts:

“After returning from UAE, so far I did not find any good job opportunities at par with the salary which I was earning abroad. Also our family has some debts which I can only settle if I work abroad for a high salary as the salary is very low here.”

Palani worked as a driver in Saudi Arabia and returned to UP after he was retrenched. However, he was willing to remigrate to any foreign country owing to the low level of wages in India in order to take care of his family. Thus, the data suggests that most of them are eager to remigrate than to stay back in their native states due to low wages, inability to find suitable employment opportunities and governmental support for integration. The remaining migrants, both internal and international, were uncertain about their return due to job losses, closing of the businesses where they used to work at or were willing to begin a new venture in their native states.

Analysis of the findings

Forced migrant mobility due to lack of protection by employers and the government.

As observed, the worst affected sections of the COVID-19 crisis were the migrant workers, both internal and international, who were pushed to the periphery. Due to the sudden and unplanned lockdown, shutting down of workplaces, hotels, construction work and other sectors which engaged migrant workers, where they earned hand-to-mouth wages, rendered them workless, wageless and homeless. Wage theft is an old phenomena, however the COVID-19-induced migrant crisis magnified this issue (Foley & Piper, 2021 ). The irresponsibility displayed by the employers, rampant wage thefts and forceful retrenchments in large numbers of both internal and international migrant workers added to their misery (Kuttappan, 2020 ; Sarkar, 2020 ). Although the Indian government issued an advisory promising the internal migrants food and shelter, payment of due wages and punitive action against landlords who forcefully evict them but it was rendered ineffective in protecting them.

There are several reasons which add to the precarious circumstances of both the categories of migrant workers. Firstly, they are informal workers with no enforceable contracts between the worker and the contractor. They are not united or backed by trade unions, are less educated, lack knowledge of the job market and good social networks to rely upon in urban areas and foreign countries. This makes them dependent on their contractors and contributes to their lack of bargaining power in case of exploitation (Srivastava, 2013 ). Describing the work condition of internal migrants , the Periodic Labour Force Survey (2017–18) revealed that for more than 70% of the workers in the non-agricultural sector with a regular salary, consisting of mostly migrants, lacked any written job contract and 50% were not enrolled for any social security benefits (Sengupta & Jha, 2020 ). Also there is unavailability of affordable housing or rental options for the migrants (Iyer, 2020 ). The exploitative relations between the migrant workers and the employers or sponsors in the kafala system, contract substitution and corruption by middlemen in the Gulf is well-known (Hussain, 2015 ). In cases of wage theft, most workers are unable to file complaints due to lack of awareness of their rights and costly judicial process. For the international migrants, it is even more complicated to file complaints against their foreign employers after their return to their origin country (Kumar & Akhil, 2021 ). Therefore, the lack of minimal social and economic protection afforded to migrant workers pushed them back to their village. It can be deduced from our findings that if workers received a safety cover such as a place to live with food, water, free electricity, payment of wages and job security, there is a possibility that they would have stayed back in their work destination. Or the proper arrangement of their return would have contributed to a relatively smoother process of their reverse migration and ensured control over the spread of the virus. However, the rampant unemployment even amongst the general population during the lockdown will further reduce the bargaining power of the migrant workers in the post-COVID economy.

Migrant experiences of stigmatization, hostility and discrimination

The ill-treatment of the respondents of this study, both internal and international migrants, in terms of being stranded without adequate facilities aggravated their feeling of being discriminated. At the destination state, they were treated as outsiders and a burden when calamity struck with neither the employer nor the government taking their responsibility. The primary findings showed how both the categories of workers were forcefully retrenched and reduced to unsanitary shelters which took away their ability to isolate and put their life at risk. Wage theft and abrupt termination of employment contracts added to the hopelessness of the migrants who incurred huge costs while migrating to Gulf countries in search of a better life (Kumar & Akhil, 2021 ) Lack of social networks and the hostility and isolation they experienced in the cities, which many migrants referred to as “foreign lands”, forced them to return to their villages (Kumar, 2020a ). However, they had to face the social stigma of spreading the virus from the afflicted urban areas by returning to their villages which were relatively protected from the virus at that stage. In the case of internal migrants, the unsanitary conditions under which they returned at a time when travelling was prohibited exacerbated the hostility against them in the form of police brutality and discrimination by villagers. There were instances of social tension among villagers fearing contagion who assaulted the government officials and migrants who were returning (Kumar, 2020 ; Manoj, 2020 ). Deplorable condition of health facilities in the rural areas, lack of awareness of the safety measures and proper transportation arrangements by the government also contributed to the fear of the spread of the virus resulting in stigmatisation of the returning migrants. Lack of awareness of government officials in dealing with the returnees was evident when the migrants were sprayed with disinfectants in UP (BBC, 2020 ). When the government initiated transportation, most of the trains were carrying migrants from COVID-19 hotspots which raised concerns about their isolation (Sheriff et al., 2020 ). The instances of non-cooperation by migrants needs to be viewed in a larger context of lack of awareness, hostility towards migrant mobility, lack of basic amenities in the destination states and quarantine facilities and a resulting sense of distrust. In order to avoid discrimination and stigma, migrants tend to hide their symptoms, avoid seeking immediate healthcare and observing healthy behaviour (WHO, 2020 ) . The governmental controls over migrant mobility in the name of containing the virus perpetuated discrimination against the migrants who were viewed as vectors of the virus (White, 2020 ).

High migration costs for international migrants

Though both the categories of Indian migrant workers faced problems while seeking help from the Indian government, there are some differences which can be pointed out. The international migrants had to incur huge expenses on their ticket, Covid tests and quarantine centres in contrast to the internal migrants whose fare was covered by the respective state governments, even though some internal migrants ended up paying due to exploitative agents, lack of awareness and confusion at the political level. This difference of treatment is due to inadequate media attention and, as a result, lack of governmental attention paid to the concerns of international migrants. It must be highlighted how Indians travelling to foreign countries have to pay an exorbitant recruitment fee especially when travelling through an agent (Migration News, 2008 ). Such high costs of migration especially amidst a crisis, has the potential to push the blue collar international migrants into major debt and make their reverse migration challenging.

Inadequate database and lack of inclusive legal and social security for migrants

There is lack of reliable data on internal migrants with the government, unlike international migrants, as the last time any official data was collected was as part of the National Sample Survey 2007–08 and the Census 2011 whose data was partially released in 2020. During the lockdown, the Indian government never collected data on the deaths of internal migrants during their reverse migration and their job losses (Paliath, 2021 ). The lack of data culminated in the lack of clear direction among the central and state governments on the handling of the migrant mobility and also resulted in their non-coverage of social security measures. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 aimed to protect migrant workers during their recruitment and transportation against abuse and exploitation by unregistered contractors but it has been poorly implemented (Sen, 2020 ). Also, in 2020, it has been subsumed under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, where it is applicable on establishments that employ five or more employees which renders migrants working in micro units outside the ambit of the law. Exclusion, poor implementation, lack of awareness and difficult application process of the governmental schemes providing affordable housing, food and cooking oil subsidies under the public distribution system, affordable public healthcare system renders the low-income migrant communities insecure (International Labour Organisation, 2020 ).

Positive role of the civil society

The civil society played a major role in supporting the migrants at all stages of their reverse migration. NGOs in India and in the Gulf countries were at the forefront during the distribution of food and medicines to stranded migrants, directing them to shelter homes, organising bus services, booking tickets of governmental transportation and facilitating undocumented migrants (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2020 ; Som, 2020 ). They even conducted migrant surveys and compiled useful reports highlighting the tremendous problems they face generally and during the lockdown. The immense outreach of NGOs with the migrant workers at the grassroot level calls for a concerted effort between the civil society and the government in policy making for migrants.

Ineffective reintegration measures

Since labour is in the concurrent list, it is important for the central government to set a standard for the other states to follow. In this context, the non-inclusion of international migrants in the relief package was blameworthy. Though international migrants bring in huge remittances benefitting the Indian economy but amidst a crisis, they were left on their own instruments to cover their basic needs, travel fare during repatriation and survival in their origin country. This aspect did not receive enough media attention in comparison to the internal migrants. However, this was not enough to ensure the smooth reintegration of internal migrants as well, as more than 90% of India’s workforce is in the unorganised sector, which includes the low-income migrant workers, who are not registered under welfare schemes, lack wage protection and bank accounts (Express News Service, 2015 ). This, along with the faulty distribution of the stimulus packages, deprived them of its benefits. Even for those who managed to receive the one-time financial assistance, the amount was extremely small to meet the basic needs for even a month. The continuing pandemic and repeated lockdowns makes the situation for migrants difficult as they are unable to find jobs in their village and face travel restrictions which hinders their job search in urban areas simultaneously. Though skill mapping and maintenance of database are steps in the right direction, it has to be followed up with proper implementation and, most importantly, job creation in the origin states and under rural employment guarantee schemes like MGNREGA. In fact, renowned economist Jean Dreze has touted the idea of a state-sponsored urban employment scheme which will integrate the urban poor (Vij, 2020 ). A universal social protection cover, not only for the internal migrants but also international migrants upon their return, is important without which any reintegrative measure will remain futile.

This study highlighted the various aspects where the experiences of the internal and international migrants differed as well as converged especially during the pandemic. Some obvious differences were on account of them being separate categories in terms of their work destinations and migration process. However, as far as the differences in terms of the disparate media attention, share in relief package and reintegrative measures, high costs of migration, maintenance of proper database, all these can be commonly attributable to governmental neglect of migrants. The convergences drawn in this study are therefore important to highlight the general vulnerability of the migrants, irrespective of their category, even though both the origin and destination states benefit from migration. Their experiences converged in terms of the lack of planning and protection for the migrant community which led to them being stranded, economic challenges such as wage theft, retrenchments, survival on meagre savings, lack of social security protection, lack of governmental and employer accountability, social discrimination and hostility, mobility issues both before and after repatriation, difficulty in access to justice, ineffective reintegrative measures and vulnerability especially of the low-skilled workers. These commonalities reveal a general precarity of the Indian Migrant community and glaring caveats in migration policy making and implementation. There is a need to work on these aspects to make both internal and international migration a smoother process where all the stakeholders benefit especially in a post-crisis situation.

This study highlighted the involuntary and forced nature of reverse migration due to the sudden lockdown, lack of preparedness and planning among the government, the irresponsible behaviour of the employers and social hostility against the migrants. Lack of migrant data and registration in welfare schemes excluded most of them from the relief package benefits. The COVID-19 crisis has magnified several pre-existing problems faced by the migrant communities which led them to suffer invariably at different stages of their reverse migration. This crisis, therefore, should be used as an opportunity to bring positive measures and requires strong political will to implement them. The effective reintegration of the internal and international migrants in the post-COVID economy is an important policy issue which would entail collecting latest data, job creation which matches their skill set, inclusion in welfare schemes, portability of social security benefits taking into consideration the mobile nature of migrant communities. The Indian Community Welfare Fund should be mobilized not only in times of crisis but also in reducing the migration costs for international migrants. For better policy making, government must integrate with the civil society which has good outreach with the migrant communities at the grassroot level.

Availability of data and materials

This research includes primary data collected through interviews of migrant workers and social workers which is available with the authors. This data is not publicly available to protect the privacy of the respondents and only their real occupation, origin and work destination state has been reported in the manuscript. Some of the other data used for supporting key arguments are as follows. These links also feature in the reference list:

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According to Emigration Act, 1983 “person whose educational qualification is below matric (10th class) are categorized as ECR passport holders”. They have to obtain an “Emigration clearance” from the concerned office of Protector of Emigrants (POE) before travelling to any of the 18 ECR countries which includes the GCC countries.

Abbreviations

Emigration Check Required

Gulf Cooperation Council

Madhya Pradesh

Ministry of External Affairs

United Arab Emirates

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Uttar Pradesh

Vande Bharat Mission

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Acknowledgements

We would sincerely like to appreciate the help of the migrant workers and the social workers interviewed in this study. We are extremely grateful to S Irudaya Rajan, Chairman at The International Institute of Migration and Development, for his valuable insights on various aspects of the migration crisis during COVID-19. We would also like to thank Dr. Arsala Nizami, who works on issues related to South Asian Migration, for her views on the role of the civil society in assisting the migrants during the crisis.

The APC charges were covered by IMISCOE – Erasmus U Rotterdam through a SpringerOpen Membership. They did not influence the findings of this research in any way.

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AK worked on the internal migration aspect and carried out a comparative analysis of the internal and international migration. AH worked on the international migration aspect and wrote the sections pertaining to the same. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Khan, A., Arokkiaraj, H. Challenges of reverse migration in India: a comparative study of internal and international migrant workers in the post-COVID economy. CMS 9 , 49 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-021-00260-2

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Eight brilliant student essays on immigration and unjust assumptions.

Read winning essays from our winter 2019 “Border (In)Security” student writing contest.

For the winter 2019 student writing competition, “Border (In)Security,” we invited students to read the YES! Magazine article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the “Constitution-Free Zone” by Lornet Turnbull and respond with an up-to-700-word essay. 

Students had a choice between two writing prompts for this contest on immigration policies at the border and in the “Constitution-free zone,” a 100-mile perimeter from land and sea borders where U.S. Border Patrol can search any vehicle, bus, or vessel without a warrant. They could state their positions on the impact of immigration policies on our country’s security and how we determine who is welcome to live here. Or they could write about a time when someone made an unfair assumption about them, just as Border Patrol agents have made warrantless searches of Greyhound passengers based simply on race and clothing.

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these eight were chosen as winners. Be sure to read the author’s response to the essay winners and the literary gems that caught our eye.

Middle School Winner: Alessandra Serafini

High School Winner: Cain Trevino

High School Winner: Ethan Peter

University Winner: Daniel Fries

Powerful Voice Winner: Emma Hernandez-Sanchez

Powerful Voice Winner: Tiara Lewis

Powerful Voice Winner: Hailee Park

Powerful Voice Winner: Aminata Toure

From the Author Lornet Turnbull

Literary Gems

Middle school winner.

Alessandra Serafini

Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

Broken Promises

“…Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

These words were written by Emma Lazarus and are inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. And yet, the very door they talk about is no longer available to those who need it the most. The door has been shut, chained, and guarded. It no longer shines like gold. Those seeking asylum are being turned away. Families are being split up; children are being stranded. The promise America made to those in need is broken.

Not only is the promise to asylum seekers broken, but the promises made to some 200 million people already residing within the U.S. are broken, too. Anyone within 100 miles of the United States border lives in the “Constitution-free zone” and can be searched with “reasonable suspicion,” a suspicion that is determined by Border Patrol officers. The zone encompasses major cities, such as Seattle and New York City, and it even covers entire states, such as Florida, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. I live in the Seattle area, and it is unsettling that I can be searched and interrogated without the usual warrant. In these areas, there has been an abuse of power; people have been unlawfully searched and interrogated because of assumed race or religion.

The ACLU obtained data from the Customs and Border Protection Agency that demonstrate this reprehensible profiling. The data found that “82 percent of foreign citizens stopped by agents in that state are Latino, and almost 1 in 3 of those processed are, in fact, U.S. citizens.” These warrantless searches impede the trust-building process and communication between the local population and law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, this lack of trust makes campaigns, such as Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Something,” ineffective due to the actions of the department’s own members and officers. Worst of all, profiling ostracizes entire communities and makes them feel unsafe in their own country.

Ironically, asylum seekers come to America in search of safety. However, the thin veil of safety has been drawn back, and, behind it, our tarnished colors are visible. We need to welcome people in their darkest hours rather than destroy their last bit of hope by slamming the door in their faces. The immigration process is currently in shambles, and an effective process is essential for both those already in the country and those outside of it. Many asylum seekers are running from war, poverty, hunger, and death. Their countries’ instability has hijacked every aspect of their lives, made them vagabonds, and the possibility of death, a cruel and unforgiving death, is real. They see no future for their children, and they are desperate for the perceived promise of America—a promise of opportunity, freedom, and a safe future. An effective process would determine who actually needs help and then grant them passage into America. Why should everyone be turned away? My grandmother immigrated to America from Scotland in 1955. I exist because she had a chance that others are now being denied.

Emma Lazarus named Lady Liberty the “Mother of Exiles.” Why are we denying her the happiness of children? Because we cannot decide which ones? America has an inexplicable area where our constitution has been spurned and forgotten. Additionally, there is a rancorous movement to close our southern border because of a deep-rooted fear of immigrants and what they represent. For too many Americans, they represent the end of established power and white supremacy, which is their worst nightmare. In fact, immigrants do represent change—healthy change—with new ideas and new energy that will help make this country stronger. Governmental agreement on a humane security plan is critical to ensure that America reaches its full potential. We can help. We can help people in unimaginably terrifying situations, and that should be our America.

Alessandra Serafini plays on a national soccer team for Seattle United and is learning American Sign Language outside of school. Her goal is to spread awareness about issues such as climate change, poverty, and large-scale political conflict through writing and public speaking.

  High School Winner

Cain Trevino

North Side High School, Fort Worth, Texas

Xenophobia and the Constitution-Free Zone

In August of 2017, U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a Greyhound bus that had just arrived at the White River Junction station from Boston. According to Danielle Bonadona, a Lebanon resident and a bus passenger, “They wouldn’t let us get off. They boarded the bus and told us they needed to see our IDs or papers.” Bonadona, a 29-year-old American citizen, said that the agents spent around 20 minutes on the bus and “only checked the IDs of people who had accents or were not white.” Bonadona said she was aware of the 100-mile rule, but the experience of being stopped and searched felt “pretty unconstitutional.”

In the YES! article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’” by Lornet Turnbull, the author references the ACLU’s argument that “the 100-mile zone violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.” However, the Supreme Court upholds the use of immigration checkpoints for inquiries on citizenship status. In my view, the ACLU makes a reasonable argument. The laws of the 100-mile zone are blurred, and, too often, officials give arbitrary reasons to conduct a search. Xenophobia and fear of immigrants burgeons in cities within these areas. People of color and those with accents or who are non-English speakers are profiled by law enforcement agencies that enforce anti-immigrant policies. The “Constitution-free zone” is portrayed as an effective barrier to secure our borders. However, this anti-immigrant zone does not make our country any safer. In fact, it does the opposite.

As a former student from the Houston area, I can tell you that the Constitution-free zone makes immigrants and citizens alike feel on edge. The Department of Homeland Security’s white SUVs patrol our streets. Even students feel the weight of anti-immigrant laws. Dennis Rivera Sarmiento, an undocumented student who attended Austin High School in Houston, was held by school police in February 2018 for a minor altercation and was handed over to county police. He was later picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and held in a detention center. It is unfair that kids like Dennis face much harsher consequences for minor incidents than other students with citizenship.

These instances are a direct result of anti-immigrant laws. For example, the 287(g) program gives local and state police the authority to share individuals’ information with ICE after an arrest. This means that immigrants can be deported for committing misdemeanors as minor as running a red light. Other laws like Senate Bill 4, passed by the Texas Legislature, allow police to ask people about their immigration status after they are detained. These policies make immigrants and people of color feel like they’re always under surveillance and that, at any moment, they may be pulled over to be questioned and detained.

During Hurricane Harvey, the immigrant community was hesitant to go to the shelters because images of immigration authorities patrolling the area began to surface online. It made them feel like their own city was against them at a time when they needed them most. Constitution-free zones create communities of fear. For many immigrants, the danger of being questioned about immigration status prevents them from reporting crimes, even when they are the victim. Unreported crime only places more groups of people at risk and, overall, makes communities less safe.

In order to create a humane immigration process, citizens and non-citizens must hold policymakers accountable and get rid of discriminatory laws like 287(g) and Senate Bill 4. Abolishing the Constitution-free zone will also require pressure from the public and many organizations. For a more streamlined legal process, the League of United Latin American Citizens suggests background checks and a small application fee for incoming immigrants, as well as permanent resident status for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients. Other organizations propose expanding the green card lottery and asylum for immigrants escaping the dangers of their home countries.

Immigrants who come to the U.S. are only looking for an opportunity to provide for their families and themselves; so, the question of deciding who gets inside the border and who doesn’t is the same as trying to prove some people are worth more than others. The narratives created by anti-immigrant media plant the false idea that immigrants bring nothing but crime and terrorism. Increased funding for the border and enforcing laws like 287(g) empower anti-immigrant groups to vilify immigrants and promote a witch hunt that targets innocent people. This hatred and xenophobia allow law enforcement to ask any person of color or non-native English speaker about their citizenship or to detain a teenager for a minor incident. Getting rid of the 100-mile zone means standing up for justice and freedom because nobody, regardless of citizenship, should have to live under laws created from fear and hatred.

Cain Trevino is a sophomore. Cain is proud of his Mexican and Salvadorian descent and is an advocate for the implementation of Ethnic Studies in Texas. He enjoys basketball, playing the violin, and studying c omputer science. Cain plans to pursue a career in engineering at Stanford University and later earn a PhD.  

High School Winner

Ethan Peter

Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Mo.

I’m an expert on bussing. For the past couple of months, I’ve been a busser at a pizza restaurant near my house. It may not be the most glamorous job, but it pays all right, and, I’ll admit, I’m in it for the money.

I arrive at 5 p.m. and inspect the restaurant to ensure it is in pristine condition for the 6 p.m. wave of guests. As customers come and go, I pick up their dirty dishes, wash off their tables, and reset them for the next guests. For the first hour of my shift, the work is fairly straightforward.

I met another expert on bussing while crossing the border in a church van two years ago. Our van arrived at the border checkpoint, and an agent stopped us. She read our passports, let us through, and moved on to her next vehicle. The Border Patrol agent’s job seemed fairly straightforward.

At the restaurant, 6 p.m. means a rush of customers. It’s the end of the workday, and these folks are hungry for our pizzas and salads. My job is no longer straightforward.

Throughout the frenzy, the TVs in the restaurant buzz about waves of people coming to the U.S. border. The peaceful ebb and flow enjoyed by Border agents is disrupted by intense surges of immigrants who seek to enter the U.S. Outside forces push immigrants to the United States: wars break out in the Middle East, gangs terrorize parts of Central and South America, and economic downturns force foreigners to look to the U.S., drawn by the promise of opportunity. Refugees and migrant caravans arrive, and suddenly, a Border Patrol agent’s job is no longer straightforward.

I turn from the TVs in anticipation of a crisis exploding inside the restaurant: crowds that arrive together will leave together. I’ve learned that when a table looks finished with their dishes, I need to proactively ask to take those dishes, otherwise, I will fall behind, and the tables won’t be ready for the next customers. The challenge is judging who is finished eating. I’m forced to read clues and use my discretion.

Interpreting clues is part of a Border Patrol agent’s job, too. Lornet Turnbull states, “For example, CBP data obtained by ACLU in Michigan shows that 82 percent of foreign citizens stopped by agents in that state are Latino, and almost 1 in 3 of those processed is, in fact, a U.S. citizen.” While I try to spot customers done with their meals so I can clear their part of the table, the Border Patrol officer uses clues to detect undocumented immigrants. We both sometimes guess incorrectly, but our intentions are to do our jobs to the best of our abilities.

These situations are uncomfortable. I certainly do not enjoy interrupting a conversation to get someone’s dishes, and I doubt Border Patrol agents enjoy interrogating someone about their immigration status. In both situations, the people we mistakenly ask lose time and are subjected to awkward and uncomfortable situations. However, here’s where the busser and the Border Patrol officer’s situations are different: If I make a mistake, the customer faces a minor inconvenience. The stakes for a Border Patrol agent are much higher. Mistakenly asking for documentation and searching someone can lead to embarrassment or fear—it can even be life-changing. Thus, Border Patrol agents must be fairly certain that someone’s immigration status is questionable before they begin their interrogation.

To avoid these situations altogether, the U.S. must make the path to citizenship for immigrants easier. This is particularly true for immigrants fleeing violence. Many people object to this by saying these immigrants will bring violence with them, but data does not support this view. In 1939, a ship of Jewish refugees from Germany was turned away from the U.S.—a decision viewed negatively through the lens of history. Today, many people advocate restricting immigration for refugees from violent countries; they refuse to learn the lessons from 1939. The sad thing is that many of these immigrants are seen as just as violent as the people they are fleeing. We should not confuse the oppressed with the oppressor.

My restaurant appreciates customers because they bring us money, just as we should appreciate immigrants because they bring us unique perspectives. Equally important, immigrants provide this country with a variety of expert ideas and cultures, which builds better human connections and strengthens our society.

Ethan Peter is a junior. Ethan writes for his school newspaper, The Kirkwood Call, and plays volleyball for his high school and a club team. He hopes to continue to grow as a writer in the future. 

University Winner

Daniel Fries

Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

Detained on the Road to Equality

The United States is a nation of immigrants. There are currently 43 million foreign-born people living in the U.S. Millions of them are naturalized American citizens, and 23 million, or 7.2 percent of the population, are living here without documentation (US Census, 2016). One in seven residents of the United States was not born here. Multiculturalism is, and always has been, a key part of the American experience. However, romantic notions of finding a better life in the United States for immigrants and refugees don’t reflect reality. In modern history, America is a country that systematically treats immigrants—documented or not—and non-white Americans in a way that is fundamentally different than what is considered right by the majority.

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment states,“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” When a suspected undocumented immigrant is detained, their basic human rights are violated. Warrantless raids on Greyhound buses within 100 miles of the border (an area referred to by some as the “Constitution-free zone”) are clear violations of human rights. These violations are not due to the current state of politics; they are the symptom of blatant racism in the United States and a system that denigrates and abuses people least able to defend themselves.

It is not surprising that some of the mechanisms that drive modern American racism are political in nature. Human beings are predisposed to dislike and distrust individuals that do not conform to the norms of their social group (Mountz, Allison). Some politicians appeal to this suspicion and wrongly attribute high crime rates to non-white immigrants. The truth is that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. In fact, people born in the United States are convicted of crimes at a rate twice that of undocumented non-natives (Cato Institute, 2018).

The majority of immigrants take high risks to seek a better life, giving them incentive to obey the laws of their new country. In many states, any contact with law enforcement may ultimately result in deportation and separation from family. While immigrants commit far fewer crimes, fear of violent crime by much of the U.S. population outweighs the truth. For some politicians, it is easier to sell a border wall to a scared population than it is to explain the need for reformed immigration policy. It’s easier to say that immigrants are taking people’s jobs than explain a changing global economy and its effect on employment. The only crime committed in this instance is discrimination.

Human rights are violated when an undocumented immigrant—or someone perceived as an undocumented immigrant—who has not committed a crime is detained on a Greyhound bus. When a United States citizen is detained on the same bus, constitutional rights are being violated. The fact that this happens every day and that we debate its morality makes it abundantly clear that racism is deeply ingrained in this country. Many Americans who have never experienced this type of oppression lack the capacity to understand its lasting effect. Most Americans don’t know what it’s like to be late to work because they were wrongfully detained, were pulled over by the police for the third time that month for no legal reason, or had to coordinate legal representation for their U.S. citizen grandmother because she was taken off a bus for being a suspected undocumented immigrant. This oppression is cruel and unnecessary.

America doesn’t need a wall to keep out undocumented immigrants; it needs to seriously address how to deal with immigration. It is possible to reform the current system in such a way that anyone can become a member of American society, instead of existing outside of it. If a person wants to live in the United States and agrees to follow its laws and pay its taxes, a path to citizenship should be available.

People come to the U.S. from all over the world for many reasons. Some have no other choice. There are ongoing humanitarian crises in Syria, Yemen, and South America that are responsible for the influx of immigrants and asylum seekers at our borders. If the United States wants to address the current situation, it must acknowledge the global factors affecting the immigrants at the center of this debate and make fact-informed decisions. There is a way to maintain the security of America while treating migrants and refugees compassionately, to let those who wish to contribute to our society do so, and to offer a hand up instead of building a wall.

Daniel Fries studies computer science. Daniel has served as a wildland firefighter in Oregon, California, and Alaska. He is passionate about science, nature, and the ways that technology contributes to making the world a better, more empathetic, and safer place.

Powerful Voice Winner

Emma Hernandez-Sanchez

Wellness, Business and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore.

An Emotion an Immigrant Knows Too Well

Before Donald Trump’s campaign, I was oblivious to my race and the idea of racism. As far as I knew, I was the same as everyone else. I didn’t stop to think about our different-colored skins. I lived in a house with a family and attended school five days a week just like everyone else. So, what made me different?

Seventh grade was a very stressful year—the year that race and racism made an appearance in my life. It was as if a cold splash of water woke me up and finally opened my eyes to what the world was saying. It was this year that Donald Trump started initiating change about who got the right to live in this country and who didn’t. There was a lot of talk about deportation, specifically for Mexicans, and it sparked commotion and fear in me.

I remember being afraid and nervous to go out. At home, the anxiety was there but always at the far back of my mind because I felt safe inside. My fear began as a small whisper, but every time I stepped out of my house, it got louder. I would have dreams about the deportation police coming to my school; when I went to places like the library, the park, the store, or the mall, I would pay attention to everyone and to my surroundings. In my head, I would always ask myself, “Did they give us nasty looks?,” “Why does it seem quieter?” “Was that a cop I just saw?” I would notice little things, like how there were only a few Mexicans out or how empty a store was. When my mom went grocery shopping, I would pray that she would be safe. I was born in America, and both my parents were legally documented. My mom was basically raised here. Still, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

I knew I shouldn’t have been afraid, but with one look, agents could have automatically thought my family and I were undocumented. Even when the deportation police would figure out that we weren’t undocumented, they’d still figure out a way to deport us—at least that was what was going through my head. It got so bad that I didn’t even want to do the simplest things like go grocery shopping because there was a rumor that the week before a person was taken from Walmart.

I felt scared and nervous, and I wasn’t even undocumented. I can’t even imagine how people who are undocumented must have felt, how they feel. All I can think is that it’s probably ten times worse than what I was feeling. Always worrying about being deported and separated from your family must be hard. I was living in fear, and I didn’t even have it that bad. My heart goes out to families that get separated from each other. It’s because of those fears that I detest the “Constitution-free zone.”

Legally documented and undocumented people who live in the Constitution-free zone are in constant fear of being deported. People shouldn’t have to live this way. In fact, there have been arguments that the 100-mile zone violates the Fourth Amendment, which gives people the right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures of property by the government. Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld these practices.

One question that Lornet Turnbull asks in her YES! article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’” is, “How should we decide who is welcome in the U.S and who is not?” Instead of focusing on immigrants, how about we focus on the people who shoot up schools, rape girls, exploit women for human sex trafficking, and sell drugs? These are the people who make our country unsafe; they are the ones who shouldn’t be accepted. Even if they are citizens and have the legal right to live here, they still shouldn’t be included. If they are the ones making this country unsafe, then what gives them the right to live here?

I don’t think that the Constitution-free zone is an effective and justifiable way to make this country more “secure.” If someone isn’t causing any trouble in the United States and is just simply living their life, then they should be welcomed here. We shouldn’t have to live in fear that our rights will be taken away. I believe that it’s unfair for people to automatically think that it’s the Hispanics that make this country unsafe. Sure, get all the undocumented people out of the United States, but it’s not going to make this country any safer. It is a society that promotes violence that makes us unsafe, not a race.

Emma Hernandez-Sanchez is a freshman who is passionate about literature and her education. Emma wan ts to inspire others to be creative and try their best. She enjoys reading and creating stories that spark imagination. 

  Powerful Voice Winner

Tiara Lewis

Columbus City Preparatory Schools for Girls,

Columbus, Ohio

Hold Your Head High and Keep Those Fists Down

How would you feel if you walked into a store and salespeople were staring at you? Making you feel like you didn’t belong. Judging you. Assuming that you were going to take something, even though you might have $1,000 on you to spend. Sometimes it doesn’t matter. This is because people will always judge you. It might not be because of your race but for random reasons, like because your hair is black instead of dirty blonde. Or because your hair is short and not long. Or just because they are having a bad day. People will always find ways to bring you down and accuse you of something, but that doesn’t mean you have to go along with it.

Every time I entered a store, I would change my entire personality. I would change the way I talked and the way I walked. I always saw myself as needing to fit in. If a store was all pink, like the store Justice, I would act like a girly girl. If I was shopping in a darker store, like Hot Topic, I would hum to the heavy metal songs and act more goth. I had no idea that I was feeding into stereotypes.

When I was 11, I walked into Claire’s, a well-known store at the mall. That day was my sister’s birthday. Both of us were really happy and had money to spend. As soon as we walked into the store, two employees stared me and my sister down, giving us cold looks. When we went to the cashier to buy some earrings, we thought everything was fine. However, when we walked out of the store, there was a policeman and security guards waiting. At that moment, my sister and I looked at one another, and I said, in a scared little girl voice, “I wonder what happened? Why are they here?”

Then, they stopped us. We didn’t know what was going on. The same employee that cashed us out was screaming as her eyes got big, “What did you steal?” I was starting to get numb. Me and my sister looked at each other and told the truth: “We didn’t steal anything. You can check us.” They rudely ripped through our bags and caused a big scene. My heart was pounding like a drum. I felt violated and scared. Then, the policeman said, “Come with us. We need to call your parents.” While this was happening, the employees were talking to each other, smiling. We got checked again. The police said that they were going to check the cameras, but after they were done searching us, they realized that we didn’t do anything wrong and let us go about our day.

Walking in the mall was embarrassing—everybody staring, looking, and whispering as we left the security office. This made me feel like I did something wrong while knowing I didn’t. We went back to the store to get our shopping bags. The employees sneered, “Don’t you niggers ever come in this store again. You people always take stuff. This time you just got lucky.” Their faces were red and frightening. It was almost like they were in a scary 3D movie, screaming, and coming right at us. I felt hurt and disappointed that someone had the power within them to say something so harsh and wrong to another person. Those employees’ exact words will forever be engraved in my memory.

In the article, “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’,” Lornet Turnbull states, “In January, they stopped a man in Indio, California, as he was boarding a Los Angeles-bound bus. While questioning this man about his immigration status, agents told him his ‘shoes looked suspicious,’ like those of someone who had recently crossed the border.” They literally judged him by his shoes. They had no proof of anything. If a man is judged by his shoes, who else and what else are being judged in the world?

In the novel  To Kill a Mockingbird , a character named Atticus states, “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let’em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change.” No matter how much you might try to change yourself, your hairstyle, and your clothes, people will always make assumptions about you. However, you never need to change yourself to make a point or to feel like you fit in. Be yourself. Don’t let those stereotypes turn into facts.

Tiara Lewis is in the eighth grade. Tiara plays the clarinet and is trying to change the world— one essay at a time. She is most often found curled up on her bed, “Divergent” in one hand and a cream-filled doughnut in the other.

Hailee Park

 Wielding My Swords

If I were a swordsman, my weapons would be my identities. I would wield one sword in my left hand and another in my right. People expect me to use both fluently, but I’m not naturally ambidextrous. Even though I am a right-handed swordsman, wielding my dominant sword with ease, I must also carry a sword in my left, the heirloom of my family heritage. Although I try to live up to others’ expectations by using both swords, I may appear inexperienced while attempting to use my left. In some instances, my heirloom is mistaken for representing different families’ since the embellishments look similar.

Many assumptions are made about my heirloom sword based on its appearance, just as many assumptions are made about me based on my physical looks. “Are you Chinese?” When I respond with ‘no,’ they stare at me blankly in confusion. There is a multitude of Asian cultures in the United States, of which I am one. Despite what many others may assume, I am not Chinese; I am an American-born Korean.

“Then… are you Japanese?” Instead of asking a broader question, like “What is your ethnicity?,” they choose to ask a direct question. I reply that I am Korean. I like to think that this answers their question sufficiently; however, they think otherwise. Instead, I take this as their invitation to a duel.

They attack me with another question: “Are you from North Korea or South Korea?” I don’t know how to respond because I’m not from either of those countries; I was born in America. I respond with “South Korea,” where my parents are from because I assume that they’re asking me about my ethnicity. I’m not offended by this situation because I get asked these questions frequently. From this experience, I realize that people don’t know how to politely ask questions about identity to those unlike them. Instead of asking “What is your family’s ethnicity?,” many people use rude alternatives, such as “Where are you from?,” or “What language do you speak?”

When people ask these questions, they make assumptions based on someone’s appearance. In my case, people make inferences like:

“She must be really good at speaking Korean.”

“She’s Asian; therefore, she must be born in Asia.”

“She’s probably Chinese.”

These thoughts may appear in their heads because making assumptions is natural. However, there are instances when assumptions can be taken too far. Some U.S. Border Patrol agents in the “Constitution-free zone” have made similar assumptions based on skin color and clothing. For example, agents marked someone as an undocumented immigrant because “his shoes looked suspicious, like those of someone who had recently crossed the border.”

Another instance was when a Jamaican grandmother was forced off a bus when she was visiting her granddaughter. The impetus was her accent and the color of her skin. Government officials chose to act on their assumptions, even though they had no solid proof that the grandmother was an undocumented immigrant. These situations just touch the surface of the issue of racial injustice in America.

When someone makes unfair assumptions about me, they are pointing their sword and challenging me to a duel; I cannot refuse because I am already involved. It is not appropriate for anyone, including Border Patrol agents, to make unjustified assumptions or to act on those assumptions. Border Patrol agents have no right to confiscate the swords of the innocent solely based on their conjectures. The next time I’m faced with a situation where racially ignorant assumptions are made about me, I will refuse to surrender my sword, point it back at them, and triumphantly fight their ignorance with my cultural pride.

Hailee Park is an eighth grader who enjoys reading many genres. While reading, Hailee recognized the racial injustices against immigrants in America, which inspired her essay. Hailee plays violin in her school’s orchestra and listens to and composes music. 

Aminata Toure

East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

We Are Still Dreaming

As a young Muslim American woman, I have been labeled things I am not: a terrorist, oppressed, and an ISIS supporter. I have been accused of planning 9/11, an event that happened before I was born. Lately, in the media, Muslims have been portrayed as supporters of a malevolent cause, terrorizing others just because they do not have the same beliefs. I often scoff at news reports that portray Muslims in such a light, just as I scoff at all names I’ve been labeled. They are words that do not define me. 

In a land where labels have stripped immigrants of their personalities, they are now being stripped of something that makes them human: their rights. The situation described in Lornet Turnbull’s article, “Two-Thirds of Americans are Living in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’,” goes directly against the Constitution, the soul of this country, something that asserts that we are all equal before the law. If immigrants do not have protection from the Constitution, is there any way to feel safe?

Although most insults are easy to shrug off, they are still threatening. I am ashamed when I feel afraid to go to the mosque. Friday is an extremely special day when we gather together to pray, but lately, I haven’t been going to the mosque for Jummah prayers. I have realized that I can never feel safe when in a large group of Muslims because of the widespread hatred of Muslims in the United States, commonly referred to as Islamophobia. Police surround our mosque, and there are posters warning us about dangerous people who might attack our place of worship because we have been identified as terrorists.

I wish I could tune out every news report that blasts out the headline “Terrorist Attack!” because I know that I will be judged based on the actions of someone else. Despite this anti-Muslim racism, what I have learned from these insults is that I am proud of my faith. I am a Muslim, but being Muslim doesn’t define me. I am a writer, a student, a dreamer, a friend, a New Yorker, a helper, and an American. I am unapologetically me, a Muslim, and so much more. I definitely think everyone should get to know a Muslim. They would see that some of us are also Harry Potter fans, not just people planning to bomb the White House.

Labels are unjustly placed on us because of the way we speak, the color of our skin, and what we believe in—not for who we are as individuals. Instead, we should all take more time to get to know one another. As Martin Luther King Jr. said in his “I Have a Dream” speech, we should be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. To me, it seems Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is a dream that should be a reality. But, for now, we are dreaming.

Aminata Toure is a Guinean American Muslim student. Aminata loves spoken-word poetry and performs in front of hundreds of people at her school’s annual poetry slam. She loves writing, language, history, and West African food and culture. Aminata wants to work at the United Nations when she grows up.

From the Author 

Dear Alessandra, Cain, Daniel, Tiara, Emma, Hailee, Aminata and Ethan,

I am moved and inspired by the thought each of you put into your responses to my story about this so-called “Constitution-free zone.” Whether we realize it or not, immigration in this country impacts all of us— either because we are immigrants ourselves, have neighbors, friends, and family who are, or because we depend on immigrants for many aspects of our lives—from the food we put on our tables to the technology that bewitches us. It is true that immigrants enrich our society in so many important ways, as many of you point out.

And while the federal statute that permits U.S. Border Patrol officers to stop and search at will any of the 200 million of us in this 100-mile shadow border, immigrants have been their biggest targets. In your essays, you highlight how unjust the law is—nothing short of racial profiling. It is heartening to see each of you, in your own way, speaking out against the unfairness of this practice.

Alessandra, you are correct, the immigration system in this country is in shambles. You make a powerful argument about how profiling ostracizes entire communities and how the warrantless searches allowed by this statute impede trust-building between law enforcement and the people they are called on to serve.

And Cain, you point out how this 100-mile zone, along with other laws in the state of Texas where you attended school, make people feel like they’re “always under surveillance, and that, at any moment, you may be pulled over to be questioned and detained.” It seems unimaginable that people live their lives this way, yet millions in this country do.

You, Emma, for example, speak of living in a kind of silent fear since Donald Trump took office, even though you were born in this country and your parents are here legally. You are right, “We shouldn’t have to live in fear that our rights will be taken away.”

And Aminata, you write of being constantly judged and labeled because you’re a Muslim American. How unfortunate and sad that in a country that generations of people fled to search for religious freedom, you are ashamed at times to practice your own. The Constitution-free zone, you write, “goes directly against the Constitution, the soul of this country, something that asserts that we are all equal before the law.”

Tiara, I could personally relate to your gripping account of being racially profiled and humiliated in a store. You were appalled that the Greyhound passenger in California was targeted by Border Patrol because they claimed his shoes looked like those of someone who had walked across the border: “If a man is judged by his shoes,” you ask, “who else and what else are getting judged in the world?”

Hailee, you write about the incorrect assumptions people make about you, an American born of Korean descent, based solely on your appearance and compared it to the assumptions Border Patrol agents make about those they detain in this zone.

Daniel, you speak of the role of political fearmongering in immigration. It’s not new, but under the current administration, turning immigrants into boogiemen for political gain is currency. You write that “For some politicians, it is easier to sell a border wall to a scared population than it is to explain the need for reformed immigration policy.”

And Ethan, you recognize the contributions immigrants make to this country through the connections we all make with them and the strength they bring to our society.

Keep speaking your truth. Use your words and status to call out injustice wherever and whenever you see it. Untold numbers of people spoke out against this practice by Border Patrol and brought pressure on Greyhound to change. In December, the company began offering passengers written guidance—in both Spanish and English—so they understand what their rights are when officers board their bus. Small steps, yes, but progress nonetheless, brought about by people just like you, speaking up for those who sometimes lack a voice to speak up for themselves.

With sincere gratitude,

Lornet Turnbull

Lornet Turnbull is an editor for YES! and a Seattle-based freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter  @TurnbullL .

We received many outstanding essays for the Winter 2019 Student Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye:

After my parents argued with the woman, they told me if you can fight with fists, you prove the other person’s point, but when you fight with the power of your words, you can have a much bigger impact. I also learned that I should never be ashamed of where I am from. —Fernando Flores, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

Just because we were born here and are privileged to the freedom of our country, we do not have the right to deprive others of a chance at success. —Avalyn Cox, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

Maybe, rather than a wall, a better solution to our immigration problem would be a bridge. —Sean Dwyer, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

If anything, what I’ve learned is that I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to change our world. I don’t know how to make a difference, how to make my voice heard. But I have learned the importance of one word, a simple two-letter word that’s taught to the youngest of us, a word we all know but never recognize: the significance of ‘we.’ —Enna Chiu, Highland Park High School, Highland Park, N.J.

Not to say the Border Patrol should not have authorization to search people within the border, but I am saying it should be near the border, more like one mile, not 100. —Cooper Tarbuck, Maranacook Middle School, Manchester, Maine.

My caramel color, my feminism, my Spanish and English language, my Mexican culture, and my young Latina self gives me the confidence to believe in myself, but it can also teach others that making wrong assumptions about someone because of their skin color, identity, culture, looks or gender can make them look and be weaker. —Ana Hernandez, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

We don’t need to change who we are to fit these stereotypes like someone going on a diet to fit into a new pair of pants. —Kaylee Meyers, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

If a human being with no criminal background whatsoever has trouble entering the country because of the way he or she dresses or speaks, border protection degenerates into arbitrariness. —Jonas Schumacher, Heidelberg University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany

I believe that you should be able to travel freely throughout your own country without the constant fear of needing to prove that you belong here . —MacKenzie Morgan, Lincoln Middle School, Ypsilanti, Mich.

America is known as “the Land of Opportunity,” but this label is quickly disappearing. If we keep stopping those striving for a better life, then what will become of this country? —Ennyn Chiu, Highland Park Middle School, Highland Park, N.J.

The fact that two-thirds of the people in the U.S. are living in an area called the “Constitution-free zone” is appalling. Our Constitution was made to protect our rights as citizens, no matter where we are in the country. These systems that we are using to “secure” our country are failing, and we need to find a way to change them. —Isis Liaw, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

I won’t let anyone, especially a man, tell me what I can do, because I am a strong Latina. I will represent where I come from, and I am proud to be Mexican. I will show others that looks can be deceiving. I will show others that even the weakest animal, a beautiful butterfly, is tough, and it will cross any border, no matter how challenging the journey may be. —Brittany Leal, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

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General Studies

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Study Material

Migration in India

• What is migration
• What are the various forms and patterns of Migration
• What are the reasons for Migration
• What does the Census say about the migration trends in India
• What are the outcomes of migration
• What are the challenges faced by migrants especially migrant workers
• What are the various measures taken by the government for the welfare of the migrants

Mains: Population and Associated Issues, Poverty and Developmental issues, Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

What is migration? 

Migration is the movement of people away from their usual place of residence, either internal (within the country) or international (across countries) borders. 

• One important facet of the study on population is the migration arising out of various social, economic, or political reasons. 
• For a large country like India, the study of the movement of the population in different parts of the country helps in understanding the dynamics of the society better.

What are the various forms and patterns of Migration?

People may move within a country between different states or between different districts of the same state, or they may move between different countries. 

• Internal migration refers to migration from one place to another within a country, while external migration or international migration refers to migration from one country to another. Internal migrant flows can be classified based on origin and destination. There is rural-urban migration, also there is intra-state and inter-state migration.  
• Forced migration refers to migration that is not chosen by the individual or family but is forced upon them by factors such as war, persecution, or natural disasters. Voluntary migration refers to migration that is chosen by the individual or family, driven by factors such as better economic opportunities or a desire for a better life.
• Temporary migration refers to migration that is intended to be of short duration, such as seasonal or temporary work. Permanent migration refers to migration that is intended to be of long duration, intending to settle permanently in a new place.
• Reverse migration refers to the migration of individuals or families who have previously migrated, back to their country of origin or their original place of residence.

What are the reasons for Migration?

The important factors which cause migration or which motivate people to move may broadly be classified into four categories: economic factors, demographic factors, socio-cultural factors, and political factors.

Economic Factors:

In most developing countries, low agricultural income, agricultural unemployment and underemployment are the major factors pushing the migrants towards areas with greater job opportunities.

• Push factors : Adverse economic conditions caused by poverty , low productivity, unemployment , and exhaustion of natural resources .
• Pull factors: Pull factors refer to those factors which attract the migrants to an area, such as opportunities for better employment , higher wages , better working conditions and better amenities of life, etc.
• Push-back factors : The urban labor force is sizable, and the urban unemployment rates are high, and there also exist pools of underemployed persons. All these factors act in combination as deterrents to the fresh flow of migration from rural to urban areas.

Socio-cultural Factors:  

Migration can also be driven by social factors such as marriage, family reunification, or the desire to be closer to one's community or social network.

• Marriage : Marriage is the main reason for migration among women in India. 
• Caste : Caste-based discrimination and marginalization, and violence against certain groups can also lead to migration.
• Religion : Religious persecution or discrimination can also cause individuals to migrate.
• Cultural factors : Migration can also be driven by cultural factors such as the desire to preserve one's cultural identity or to be closer to one's cultural community.

Political factors : 

Migration can also be driven by political factors such as persecution, war, or political instability.

• Political instability: Conflicts, war, or other forms of political instability can force individuals to migrate in search of safety and security.
• Persecution : Migration can also be driven by persecution or discrimination based on factors such as religion, ethnicity, or political views.
• Separatist movements : Migration can also be driven by separatist movements or ethnic conflicts, where individuals or groups may feel compelled to leave their homes to escape violence or persecution.
• Government policies and administrative actions : Government policies and administrative actions that lead to displacement or loss of livelihoods can affect migration.
• For instance, in our country, the adoption of the jobs for ‘sons of the soil policy’ by the State governments will certainly affect migration from other states.

Environmental factors: 

• Natural disasters : Droughts, floods, landslides, and other natural disasters can displace individuals and force them to migrate for food, water, and shelter.
• Climate change : Rising sea levels, increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, and other impacts of climate change can lead to the loss of homes and livelihoods, forcing people to migrate.
• Deforestation and land degradation: Deforestation and land degradation can lead to the loss of livelihoods, particularly for those dependent on agriculture, forestry, and pastoralism, forcing them to migrate.
• Water scarcity: Shortages of water due to climate change, overuse, and pollution, can lead to loss of livelihoods and force people to migrate.
• Displacement by development projects: Large-scale development projects such as dams, mines, and industrial projects can displace people from their homes and force them to migrate.

What does the Census say about the migration trends in India?

The latest government data on migration comes from the 2011 Census.  

• India had 45.6 crore migrants in 2011 (38% of the population).
• Between 2001 and 2011, while the population grew by 18%, the number of migrants increased by 45%.  
• 99% of total migration was internal, and immigrants (international migrants) comprised 1%.
• There were 21 crore rural-rural migrants, which formed 54% of classifiable internal migration.
• Intra-state movement accounted for almost 88% of all internal migration.
• Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the largest sources of inter-state migrants, while Maharashtra and Delhi were the largest receiver states.
• Majority ( 70% ) of intra-state migration was due to reasons of marriage and family. 

What are the outcomes of migration?

Migration in India can have a variety of consequences, both positive and negative , depending on the context and the specific characteristics of the migration.

Economic Consequences: 

A major benefit for the source region is the remittance sent by migrants. 

• Remittances from international migrants are one of the major sources of foreign exchange.
•  Availability of labor can increase productivity . 
• Also, unregulated migration to the metropolitan cities of India has caused overcrowding and the development of slums .

Demographic Consequences: 

Migration leads to the redistribution of the population within a country.

• Age and skill-selective migration from the rural area have adverse effects on the rural demographic structure.
• Out-migration of rural men is also leading to the feminization of agriculture . 

Social Consequences: 

Migrants act as agents of social change. The new ideas related to new technologies, family planning, girls’ education, etc., get diffused from urban to rural areas through them.

• Migration leads to intermixing of people from diverse cultures and leads to the evolution of a composite culture. 
• But it also has serious negative consequences like a sense of dejection among the migrants. 

Environmental Consequences:

The environmental consequences of migration in India can be significant and varied.

• Migration can lead to the loss of biodiversity and  Deforestation as people clear land for agriculture, overuse natural resources, and introduce new invasive species.
• Migration can increase water scarcity as people overuse water resources and pollute water sources.

What are the challenges faced by migrants, especially migrant workers?

People migrating for work face key challenges including

• Lack of social security and health benefits and poor implementation of minimum safety standards law.
• Lack of portability of state-provided benefits, especially food provided through the public distribution system (PDS) .
•  Lack of access to affordable housing and basic amenities in urban areas.
• Effect of COVID-19- Concerns faced by such migrant workers relate to food, shelter, healthcare, fear of getting infected or spreading the infection, loss of wages, concerns about the family, anxiety, and fear. 

What are the various measures taken by the government for the welfare of the migrants?

The Indian government has implemented various measures to address the welfare of migrants in the country. Some key measures include

• Code on Social Security : The code provides certain benefits for inter-state migrant workers such as Insurance and provident fund.
• One Nation-One Ration Card: It has given households benefiting from the Public Distribution System (PDS) more choice and flexibility to choose which Fair Price Shop (FPS) they can get their rations from. 
• Draft National Policy on Migrant Workers by NITI Aayog: NITI Aayog’s draft national migrant policy takes a rights-based approach and discusses the importance of collective action to help migrants bargain for better conditions.
• Remote voting: The Election Commission plans to pilot a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) to facilitate the participation of domestic migrants from their remote locations for voting for their home constituencies.
• E-SHRAM Portal for creating a database of migrant workers.
• Distribution of food under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna .
• Affordable rental housing complexes (ARHCs) scheme aimed at providing housing at an affordable rent to migrants near their workplace.
• Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan (GKRA) provides employment to returnee migrants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 116 selected districts across six states.

Previous Year Questions

Q) Discuss the changes in the trends of labor migration within and outside India in the last four decades.(2015)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q) what is feminisation of agriculture.

Feminisation of agriculture refers to the increasing participation of women in the agricultural sector, often as a result of men's migration to urban areas or non-agricultural jobs. This trend is characterized by women becoming the primary producers, decision-makers and managers of agricultural activities, farms and households. 

Q) What are remittances?

Remittances are the money that individuals living abroad send back to their families and friends in their home country.Remittances are a crucial source of income for many households and communities in developing countries, including India.According to the World Bank , in 2021 India received $89 billion in remittances. This makes India the world's largest remittance-receiving country.

Q) Who will be considered as an inter-state migrant worker under the Code on Social Security, 2020?

An inter-state migrant worker under the code is a person who works in an establishment in a state other than the state where they were recruited or originated from. They may have been hired directly by the employer or through a contractor. They earn wages of up to 18,000 per month or a higher amount notified by the central government from time to time.

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Migration and india.

Paralleling the growth of India’s economy has been the concomitant increase in India’s global engagement. While this has been most manifest in the growth of trade and financial flows, the movement of people has also become more important. Since the 1830s, international migration from India under British rule comprised largely of unskilled workers from poorer socio-economic groups who went to other colonized countries. Between 1834 and 1937, nearly 30 million people left India and nearly four-fifths returned. Post-Independence, migrants came from richer socio-economic groups, from wealthier parts of the country and, with the exception of the large migration to the Middle East, went industrialized. The migrant stream to the United States in particular has been the most highly educated, both compared to other immigrants into the US, as well as to other Indian migrant streams abroad. Since the 1990s, increasing numbers of skilled emigrants from India have also been moving to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore. The economic impact of international migration on India has been primarily shaped by two key channels — financial and human capital. The oil boom-induced Gulf migration in the early 1970s is when efforts at attracting inflows from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) began. Since then financial remittance has emerged as an important part of India’s balance of payments. Remittances were virtually negligible in 1970, rose to $2.8 billion in 1980, stagnated during the 1980s and even dropped slightly to $2.4 billion in 1990. Since then they have climbed steeply to $11.1 billion in 1999 and over $50 billion — nearly 5 percent of GDP — in 2009. Paralleling the inflows of remittances have been NRI inflows in the capital account. Although schemes to attract the latter were introduced in 1970, a decade later deposits barely exceeded one billion dollars. During the 1980s, while remittances languished, deposits accelerated. Following the onset of the 1991 reforms NRI deposits grew rapidly accounting for nearly 10 percent ($37 billion) of the accretion to India’s foreign exchange reserves in the last two decades. This spurt has in part been due to the rapid growth in the stock of India citizens residing abroad, the degree to which their earning power has increased and policy changes including liberalization of the foreign exchange regime and gold imports (with the latter resulting in bringing remittances from the Middle East through official channels, rather than hawala markets), and of course India’s much better growth prospects. In contrast to the large inflows in the current account and banking deposits in the capital account, NRI-FDI has been remarkably limited in part because of an unfavorable policy regime that penalizes NRIs from remitting the gains from FDI. In addition to the obvious positive impact for recipient households, financial remittances have had considerable systemic effects on India’s balance of payments, allowing much greater trade deficits than would otherwise have been possible, stabilizing the rupee exchange rate and thereby giving India’s central bank greater monetary policy autonomy. These inflows have been much more important for some states than others. The most obvious case is Kerala where remittances account for about a quarter of state net domestic product with wide ranging economic and social consequences. Given Kerala’s political economy, it is not surprising that most of this money fuelled a consumption boom (with no investments in manufacturing) and the resulting demand has driven growth in the service sector, most of which (such as construction) are non-tradeables. Recently however, these inflows have fuelled investments in the hospitality industry and a mushrooming of private institutions in health care and education. A second channel through which international migration has affected India is its human capital. The effects of skilled migration have been ambiguous. On the positive side, the success of India migrants overseas has been good for India’s reputation. In addition, this segment of the diaspora has woven a web of cross-national networks, thereby facilitating the flow of tacit information, commercial and business ideas, and technologies into India. It has also facilitated “home sourcing”, as exemplified by the rapid growth of India’s diamond cutting and polishing industry. The Indian diaspora has also had important trade enhancing and investment effects. On the other hand, the loss of significant numbers of the highly skilled has undoubtedly had negative effects as well, perhaps most manifest in reducing the supply of professionals with the managerial and technical capabilities to run institutions and organizations, be they colleges or hospitals, statistical systems or research laboratories. A prime example of these adverse effects can be seen in India’s higher education system. When the IITs and IIMs, as well as new science and technology research institutes were set up in the 1950s and 1960s many of the key personnel in these institutions were trained abroad and returned to India, inspired by the heady days of “nation building.” But by the late 1960s, more and more of India’s best and brightest began to go abroad, never to return. The small number who did were sufficient to maintain the high standards of a small number of institutions, but not their expansion, and the number of graduates from these elite institutions remained virtually unchanged for four decades. Meanwhile, the replenishment of talent in universities and research institutes began to decline as fewer returned. Finally, when return migration picked up at the turn of the century, few saw public institutions as a viable career alternative. This has been an important reason why Indian universities (virtually all public) have deteriorated. As mediocrity has become entrenched, it has become even more impervious to change. While there are many complex reasons for the travails of Indian higher education, these have been amplified by the manner in which the system has been a net exporter of talent. Any system that hemorrhages talent over the long run will struggle to survive, let alone prosper. There have been considerable cognitive effects as well. A stark example is the state of West Bengal, where three decades of communist rule has so politicized its institutions of higher education that the large number of excellent researchers from this state can be found all over the world, except in West Bengal. The benefits — or costs — of international migration will depend largely on India’s domestic policies and politics rather than something intrinsic to this specific mechanism of globalization. Whether the India diaspora will lobby for the country of origin in foreign capitals or instead help raise funds for separatist movements, whether the “brain-drain” becomes a “brain-gain”, whether they invest in factories in the country of origin or one-way tickets for their compatriots to leave the country of origin, will by and large depend on what happens in India. It must be remembered that citizens leave their country for a reason. And when they leave, the factors that led them to leave do not disappear. How these factors are addressed will fundamentally shape migration’s effects on India.  Devesh Kapur is the Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI), Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Madan Lal Sobti Professor for the Study of Contemporary India. In August 2010, Professor Kapur's new book on migration was published: Diaspora, Development, and Democracy: The Domestic Impact of International Migration from India . Email: [email protected] This article first appeared in Forbes India on August 24, 2010.

India in Transition (IiT) is published by the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) of the University of Pennsylvania. All viewpoints, positions, and conclusions expressed in IiT are solely those of the author(s) and not specifically those of CASI.

© 2010 Center for the Advanced Study of India and the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.

• IAS Preparation
• UPSC Preparation Strategy
• Human Migration In India

Human Migration in India

Migration is the movement of people away from their usual place of residence, either within the country or across countries’ borders. Some states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Haryana attract migrants from other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc.

This article will provide information about Human Migration in India in the context of the  IAS Exam .

The candidates can read more relevant information from the links provided below:

Human Migration in India – An Overview

• Migration is one of the ways in which population change occurs in a location, state, or country.
• Census 2011 provides the latest information regarding migration in India.
• As per the Census data, India had 31.5 crore migrants in 2001 which constituted 31% of the population of India, but in 2011, 38% of the country’s population were migrants and the number of the migrant population stood at 45.6 crores.
• The number of migrants in India increased by 45% between 2001 and 2011, although the population increased by 18% in the same time period.
• In 2011, the number of international migrants i.e. immigrants constituted 1% of the total migration.
• In 2011, internal migration i.e. within the country constituted 99% of the total migration.

Human Migration in India – Types and Classification of Migration

Internal Migration and External Migration are the two types of migration. When migration takes place within a country, or within a state it is known as internal migration. When a person enters a new country, it is known as immigration. When a person leaves a country, it is known as emigration.

One type of migration can be classified as Inter-state migration and Intra-state migration .

• Almost 88% of all internal migration was intra-state migration, as per Census 2011. It numbered upto 39.6 crore persons.
• There were 5.4 crore inter-state migrants as per the 2011 census.
• As per the same census, the largest receiver states were Maharashtra and Delhi.
• As per census 2011, the largest sources of inter-state migration was Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• By 2011, Maharashtra received around 60 lakh migrants from across India.
• Around 63 lakh residents of Bihar had moved either permanently or temporarily to other states.
• Around 83 lakh residents of Uttar Pradesh had moved either permanently or temporarily to other states.

Based on origin and destination , internal migration can be further classified into 4 different types of migration.

• Urban-Urban
• Urban-Rural
• Rural-Rural,
• Rural-Urban

As per the 2011 census, the Urban-Rural migrants comprised 3 crore migrants. Urban-Urban movement and Rural-Urban movement accounted for around 8 crore migrants each. 54% of classifiable internal migration came under the category of rural-rural migrants which numbered up to 21 crores.

Causes of Human Migration in India – Internal Migration

• Education, health care, for other basic infrastructure facilities, pressure on land due to high population, and poverty are some of the main reasons behind the migration of people in India.
• Migration is also caused by other factors like local conflicts, wars, natural disasters like tsunami, earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts.
• The most important pull factors which lead to the migration of people from rural areas to cities are relatively better incomes, better availability of regular work, and other better opportunities.
• Among 50% of the male and 5% of female inter-state migrants, the cause of migration was work.
• Marriage and family were the primary reasons behind intra-state migration. This was the cause recorded among 70% of the intra-state migrants, as per figures given in Census 2011.
• Only 2% of female migrants and 21% of male migrants (overall 8%) moved within a state in search of work.
• 39% of male migrants and 83% of female migrants had undertaken intra-state migration due to reasons such as family and marriage.

Consequences of Migration

The various consequences of migration are given below:

• Environmental consequences
• Social consequences
• Demographic consequences
• Economic consequences

Human Migration in India – Issues Faced by Migrant Labourers

Lack of affordable housing, transportation, access to nutritious food etc are some of the issues faced by migrant labourers.

Human Migration in India [UPSC Notes]:- Download PDF Here

Frequently Asked Questions on Human Migration in India

Which is the largest migration stream in india.

Remittance-based, male-dominated is the largest and longest stream of migration in India.

Which are the main streams of human migration in India?

Urban-Urban, Urban-Rural, Rural-Rural, Rural-Urban are the main streams of human migration in India.

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Internal Migration in India and associated challenges: Explained, pointwise

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• 1 What is the Internal Migration? 
• 2 What are the constitutional provisions that facilitate Internal migration?
• 3 What is the status of Internal Migration in India?
• 4 What are the benefits of Internal Migration in India? 
• 5 What are the challenges faced by Internal migrants? 
• 6 What are the challenges in addressing internal labour migration issues in India? 
• 7 What are the government policies taken to protect internal migrants? 
• 8 What should be done to protect internal migrants? 
• 9.1 Share this:

Introduction

Recently, a fake video was found in Tamil Nadu that showed images of locals beating up migrant workers. Representatives from Bihar and Jharkhand have been to Tamil Nadu to check out the situation. The issue once again stirred the debates on issues of Internal Migration in India.

What is the Internal Migration ?  

Migration is the geographic movement of people across a specified boundary for the purpose of establishing a new permanent or semi-permanent residence. The term “ in migration ” and “ out migration ” are used for movement between areas within a country (internal migration).

Note : The terms “immigration” and “emigration” are used to refer to moves between countries (international migration). 

What are the constitutional provisions that facilitate Internal migration?

• M igration within the country for work is a fundamental right of a citizen as upheld by Article 19 of the Constitution of India.  
• The fundamental rights further prohibit human trafficking and guarantee freedom from discrimination based on place of birth , equal opportunities for employment, and protection from forced as well as child labour.    
• Interstate migration comes under the seventh schedule of the Constitution, List I (Union List) , entrusting the authority to the central government.  

What is the status of Internal Migration in India?

According to the 2011 Census, India had 45.6 crore migrants in 2011 (38% of the population) compared to 31.5 crore migrants in 2001 (31% of the population). In 2011,   99% of total migration was internal and immigrants (international migrants) comprised just 1%.  

In 2017, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation stated that 17 districts accounted for the top 25% of India’s total male out-migration.

According to the Economic Survey of 2022-23, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of interstate migrants – over 25 lakh people – engaged in factories in India. States like Jharkhand and Bihar are amongst the lowest.  

What are the benefits of Internal Migration in India?  

Match labour demand and s upply : Migration fills gaps in the  demand for and supply of labour, efficiently allocates skilled labour, unskilled labour, and cheap labour.  

Availability of cheap labour : Internal   migration offers a competitive environment for manufacturing especially the availability of cheap labour.  

Improve inequity : Due to internal migration, wages in rural areas increase. The people from the poorer section get the job, and inequality improves. Some migrate for seasonal work, and then they come back with remittances. There are two channels that work to improve inequalities in the areas of origin areas.  

Reap the demographic dividend : Migrant workers can help the economy reap the demographic dividend when quality jobs, adequate healthcare and nutrition and universal social protection are provided.  

Circular migration or repeat migration : It is the temporary and usually repetitive movement of a migrant worker between home and host areas, typically for the purpose of employment. circular migrants are the backbone of our economy and contribute at least 10%   of India’s gross domestic product (GDP).    

Improve Quality of Life : Migration enhances chances of employment and economic prosperity which in turn improves quality of life.  

Social Remittances : Migration makes migrants’ social lives better because they learn about new cultures, customs, and languages. This helps people get along better with each other and makes sure that people are more equal and tolerant.  

Help India reach Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG-8) : It will “Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.”    

What are the challenges faced by Internal migrants?  

Lack of social security and health benefits and poor implementation of minimum safety standards law.  

Lack of access to affordable housing and basic amenities in urban areas.    

Exclusion from Political Rights : Migrant workers are deprived of many opportunities to exercise their political rights like the right to vote.  

Language, food and other cultural barriers : Most of the internal migrants come from rural areas. They mostly speak only their mother tongue and cannot converse sufficiently well in other regional language.

Neither the local people are conversant . Hence, communication with local people and employers, travelling, accessing government benefits, medical facilities, reading and writing and integration with the local culture and food habits are major challenges for migrants.  

Exploitation, discrimination and non-payment of wage : The vulnerability of the migrants is vivid, especially when it comes to working hours, safety measures, hazardous jobs and low wages compared to the local workers.  

Sexual abuse and gender violence : Women migrants are the most vulnerable. Women face double victimisation, wages are lower than that of men, and they are sexually abused and harassed.

Trafficking and bonded labour : Migrant workers are susceptible to human trafficking and become bonded labourers.  

Health hazards, accidents and deaths : Migrant workers are vulnerable to health hazards and infectious diseases due to deplorable living conditions often provided by the employer at the work sites.  

Xenophobia : Some examples of xenophobic tendencies are the anti-lungiwalas movement of the 1960s, the anti-bhaiya movement of the 1980s in Maharashtra, the “sons of the soil” movement in Assam, and similar anti-migrant agitations and attacks in Gujarat, Karnataka, etc.  

Vulnerability to crises and disasters : Migrant workers are highly vulnerable to disasters and often migrate to cope with droughts, floods, landslides, earthquakes or cyclones.    

What are the challenges in addressing internal labour migration issues in India?  

No policy framework : There is a lack of a policy framework for the inclusion of internal migrant workers in India.   There is inadequate coordination among states on a formal exchange of information on migrant workers.  

Invisible workers : Migrant workers are not covered by protective law since India has not ratified the International Labour Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011.  

Little to no emphasis on migration : A latest report observes that there has been little to no emphasis on migration within the country.  

Informal arrangements : The lack of policy focus on internal migration within the country has been attributed to the presence of informal arrangements in which migrants work and due to the absence of reliable estimates on migrants.  

Absence of reliable databases : Migrant workers remain un-enumerated and unrecognized at the local, regional and national levels. It is challenging for local self-governments (LSGs) and labour departments to engage with high labour mobility as it is characterized by informality and lack of documentation .  

Employers incur no liability : Employers use recruiters to find and manage workers and thereby absolve themselves from any responsibility for protecting their rights and providing decent working conditions.  

What are the government policies taken to protect internal migrants?  

Central government Initiatives:

A Policy for Integrating Migrants with Development : The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), constituted the “ Working Group on Migration ” in 2015 and it submitted a report in 2017. The report made a number of recommendations and provides a roadmap for the better inclusion of migrants at their destinations .  

Legislative arrangement : The Interstate Migrant Workmen’s Act, 1979 has been the only legislation governing the conditions of migrant workers in India . However, migrant workers have been governed by various labour laws with no focus on migration status such as the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970; the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008. In 2020, different labour laws were amalgamated into four labour codes.  

Draft National Migrant Labour policy : In 2021, NITI Aayog has prepared a draft National Migrant Labour policy.  

Other arrangements : Some of the other projects are the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) project, the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC), the PM Garib Kalyan Yojna scheme , and the e-Shram portal.  

State government Initiatives:

• In 2012, with the help of the International Labour Organisation, an MoU was signed between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to track labourers migrating from 11 districts of Odisha to work in brick kilns in then-united Andhra Pradesh.  
• Kerala has set up facilitation centres for migrant workers whom the state refers to as “ guest workers”.    

What should be done to protect internal migrants?  

Bring different sections together : There is a need to bring together different sectoral concerns related to migration, including social protection, housing, health and education.  

Streamlining recruitments : This is to eliminate occupational vulnerability and strive towards humane working conditions in the various sectors.  

Introduce outreach methods : This is to provide information, education and communication support to migrant workers.  

Separate management bodies   for interstate migration : This will helpful in improving the data on migration, especially data on seasonal and circular migration.  

The other necessary reform include a) Ensuring financial inclusion for the migrants, b)  M oving   towards   a   universal   social   protection   system;  c)  G uaranteeing   dignified,   safe   and   healthy   living   and   working   conditions ;  d)  Enabling   workers’   collectivisation   and   organisations,  e)   Bringing   in   technology   and   design   innovations   to   address   the   nutrition,   housing,   water   and   sanitation   needs   of   migrant   workers,  f)  Conducting research and training to improve policy and practice. 

Conclusion  

In the next ten years, migrant workers in India could be the key to the country’s growth and progress. For this reason, the government and the private sector need to take more long-term steps .

Sources: Live Mint ,  PRS , DTE ( Article 1 and Article 2 ) and  ILO .

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What the data says about immigrants in the U.S.

The United States has long had more immigrants than any other country. In fact, the U.S. is home to one-fifth of the world’s international migrants . These immigrants have come from just about every country in the world.

Pew Research Center regularly publishes research on U.S. immigrants . Based on this research, here are answers to some key questions about the U.S. immigrant population.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to answer common questions about immigration to the United States and the U.S. immigrant population.

The data in this analysis comes mainly from Center tabulations of Census Bureau microdata from decennial censuses and American Community Survey (IPUMS USA). This analysis also features estimates of the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population . The estimates presented in this research for 2022 are the Center’s latest.

How many people in the U.S. are immigrants?

The U.S. foreign-born population reached a record 46.1 million in 2022. Growth accelerated after Congress made U.S. immigration laws more permissive in 1965. In 1970, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. was less than a quarter of what it is today.

Immigrants today account for 13.8% of the U.S. population. This is a roughly threefold increase from 4.7% in 1970. However, the immigrant share of the population today remains below the record 14.8% in 1890 .

Where are U.S. immigrants from?

Mexico is the top country of birth for U.S. immigrants. In 2022, roughly 10.6 million immigrants living in the U.S. were born there, making up 23% of all U.S. immigrants. The next largest origin groups were those from India (6%), China (5%), the Philippines (4%) and El Salvador (3%).

By region of birth, immigrants from Asia accounted for 28% of all immigrants. Other regions make up smaller shares:

• Latin America (27%), excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (10%), Central America (9%) and South America (9%)
• Europe, Canada and other North America (12%)
• Sub-Saharan Africa (5%)
• Middle East and North Africa (4%)

How have immigrants’ origin countries changed in recent decades?

Before 1965, U.S. immigration law favored immigrants from Northern and Western Europe and mostly barred immigration from Asia. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act opened up immigration from Asia and Latin America. The Immigration Act of 1990 further increased legal immigration and allowed immigrants from more countries to enter the U.S. legally.

Since 1965, about 72 million immigrants have come to the United States from different and more countries than their predecessors:

• From 1840 to 1889, about 90% of U.S. immigrants came from Europe, including about 70% from Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
• Almost 90% of the immigrants who arrived from 1890 to 1919 came from Europe. Nearly 60% came from Italy, Austria-Hungary and Russia-Poland.
• Since 1965, about half of U.S. immigrants have come from Latin America, with about a quarter from Mexico alone. About another quarter have come from Asia. Large numbers have come from China, India, the Philippines, Central America and the Caribbean.

The newest wave of immigrants has dramatically changed states’ immigrant populations . In 1980, German immigrants were the largest group in 19 states, Canadian immigrants were the largest in 11 states and Mexicans were the largest in 10 states. By 2000, Mexicans were the largest group in 31 states.

Today, Mexico remains the largest origin country for U.S. immigrants. However, immigration from Mexico has slowed since 2007 and the Mexican-born population in the U.S. has dropped. The Mexican share of the U.S. immigrant population dropped from 29% in 2010 to 23% in 2022.

Where are recent immigrants coming from?

In 2022, Mexico was the top country of birth for immigrants who arrived in the last year, with about 150,000 people. India (about 145,000) and China (about 90,000) were the next largest sources of immigrants. Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil and Canada each had about 50,000 to 60,000 new immigrant arrivals.

The main sources of immigrants have shifted twice in the 21st century. The first was caused by the Great Recession (2007-2009). Until 2007, more Hispanics than Asians arrived in the U.S. each year. From 2009 to 2018, the opposite was true.

Since 2019, immigration from Latin America – much of it unauthorized – has reversed the pattern again. More Hispanics than Asians have come each year.

What is the legal status of immigrants in the U.S.?

Most immigrants (77%) are in the country legally. As of 2022:

• 49% were naturalized U.S. citizens.
• 24% were lawful permanent residents.
• 4% were legal temporary residents.
• 23% were unauthorized immigrants .

From 1990 to 2007, the unauthorized immigrant population more than tripled in size, from 3.5 million to a record high of 12.2 million. From there, the number slowly declined to about 10.2 million in 2019.

In 2022, the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. showed sustained growth for the first time since 2007, to 11.o million.

As of 2022, about 4 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. are Mexican. This is the largest number of any origin country, representing more than one-third of all unauthorized immigrants. However, the Mexican unauthorized immigrant population is down from a peak of almost 7 million in 2007, when Mexicans accounted for 57% of all unauthorized immigrants.

The drop in the number of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico has been partly offset by growth from other parts of the world, especially Asia and other parts of Latin America.

The 2022 estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population are our latest comprehensive estimates. Other partial data sources suggest continued growth in 2023 and 2024 .

Who are unauthorized immigrants?

Virtually all unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. entered the country without legal permission or arrived on a nonpermanent visa and stayed after it expired.

A growing number of unauthorized immigrants have permission to live and work in the U.S. and are temporarily protected from deportation. In 2022, about 3 million unauthorized immigrants had these temporary legal protections. These immigrants fall into several groups:

• Temporary Protected Status (TPS): About 650,000 immigrants have TPS as of July 2022. TPS is offered to individuals who cannot safely return to their home country because of civil unrest, violence, natural disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA): Almost 600,000 immigrants are beneficiaries of DACA. This program allows individuals brought to the U.S. as children before 2007 to remain in the U.S.
• Asylum applicants: About 1.6 million immigrants have pending applications for asylum in the U.S. as of mid-2022 because of dangers faced in their home country. These immigrants can stay in the U.S. legally while they wait for a decision on their case.
• Other protections: Several hundred thousand individuals have applied for special visas to become lawful immigrants. These types of visas are offered to victims of trafficking and certain other criminal activities.

In addition, about 500,000 immigrants arrived in the U.S. by the end of 2023 under programs created for Ukrainians (U4U or Uniting for Ukraine ) and people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela ( CHNV parole ). These immigrants mainly arrived too late to be counted in the 2022 estimates but may be included in future estimates.

Do all lawful immigrants choose to become U.S. citizens?

Immigrants who are lawful permanent residents can apply to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements. In fiscal year 2022, almost 1 million lawful immigrants became U.S. citizens through naturalization . This is only slightly below record highs in 1996 and 2008.

Most immigrants eligible for naturalization apply for citizenship, but not all do. Top reasons for not applying include language and personal barriers, lack of interest and not being able to afford it, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey .

Where do most U.S. immigrants live?

In 2022, most of the nation’s 46.1 million immigrants lived in four states: California (10.4 million or 23% of the national total), Texas (5.2 million or 11%), Florida (4.8 million or 10%) and New York (4.5 million or 10%).

Most immigrants lived in the South (35%) and West (33%). Another 21% lived in the Northeast and 11% were in the Midwest.

In 2022, more than 29 million immigrants – 63% of the nation’s foreign-born population – lived in just 20 major metropolitan areas. The largest populations were in the New York, Los Angeles and Miami metro areas. Most of the nation’s unauthorized immigrant population (60%) lived in these metro areas as well.

How many immigrants are working in the U.S.?

In 2022, over 30 million immigrants were in the U.S. workforce. Lawful immigrants made up the majority of the immigrant workforce, at 22.2 million. An additional 8.3 million immigrant workers are unauthorized. This is a notable increase over 2019 but about the same as in 2007 .

The share of workers who are immigrants increased slightly from 17% in 2007 to 18% in 2022. By contrast, the share of immigrant workers who are unauthorized declined from a peak of 5.4% in 2007 to 4.8% in 2022. Immigrants and their children are projected to add about 18 million people of working age between 2015 and 2035. This would offset an expected decline in the working-age population from retiring Baby Boomers.

How educated are immigrants compared with the U.S. population overall?

On average, U.S. immigrants have lower levels of education than the U.S.-born population. In 2022, immigrants ages 25 and older were about three times as likely as the U.S. born to have not completed high school (25% vs. 7%). However, immigrants were as likely as the U.S. born to have a bachelor’s degree or more (35% vs. 36%).

Immigrant educational attainment varies by origin. About half of immigrants from Mexico (51%) had not completed high school, and the same was true for 46% of those from Central America and 21% from the Caribbean. Immigrants from these three regions were also less likely than the U.S. born to have a bachelor’s degree or more.

On the other hand, immigrants from all other regions were about as likely as or more likely than the U.S. born to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Immigrants from South Asia (72%) were the most likely to have a bachelor’s degree or more.

How well do immigrants speak English?

About half of immigrants ages 5 and older (54%) are proficient English speakers – they either speak English very well (37%) or speak only English at home (17%).

Immigrants from Canada (97%), Oceania (82%), sub-Saharan Africa (76%), Europe (75%) and South Asia (73%) have the highest rates of English proficiency.

Immigrants from Mexico (36%) and Central America (35%) have the lowest proficiency rates.

Immigrants who have lived in the U.S. longer are somewhat more likely to be English proficient. Some 45% of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for five years or less are proficient, compared with 56% of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for 20 years or more.

Spanish is the most commonly spoken language among U.S. immigrants. About four-in-ten immigrants (41%) speak Spanish at home. Besides Spanish, the top languages immigrants speak at home are English only (17%), Chinese (6%), Filipino/Tagalog (4%), French or Haitian Creole (3%), and Vietnamese (2%).

Note: This is an update of a post originally published May 3, 2017.

• Immigrant Populations
• Immigration & Migration
• Unauthorized Immigration

Mohamad Moslimani is a former research analyst focusing on race and ethnicity at Pew Research Center .

Jeffrey S. Passel is a senior demographer at Pew Research Center .

What we know about unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S.

Cultural issues and the 2024 election, latinos’ views on the migrant situation at the u.s.-mexico border, u.s. christians more likely than ‘nones’ to say situation at the border is a crisis, how americans view the situation at the u.s.-mexico border, its causes and consequences, most popular.

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Make Your Note

Issue of Illegal Migrants

• 13 Aug 2021
• GS Paper - 2
• GS Paper - 3
• Population and Associated Issues
• Challenges to Internal Security Through Communication Networks
• Government Policies & Interventions
• India and its Neighbourhood

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs has informed in the Lok Sabha that according to some reports some Rohingya migrants are indulging in illegal activities.

• The response came on the queries about the current situation of Rohingya living illegally in various parts of the country.
• The Rohingya people are a stateless, Indo-Aryan ethnic group who reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
• They are described by the United Nations (UN) as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.
• The Rohingya refugee crisis is caused by the Rohingya people having long faced violence and discrimination in Myanmar.
• To escape discrimination and violence in Myanmar, minority Rohingya Muslims have for decades fled from the Buddhist-majority country to neighboring Bangladesh and other countries, including India.
• The continuance of the illegal immigration of Rohingyas into India and their continued stay in India is found to be having serious national security ramifications and poses serious security threats.
• It impacts the interests of local populations in the areas seeing large-scale influxes of illegal immigrants.
• It also increases the political instability when leaders start mobilising the perception of the citizens of the country against the migrants by the elites to grab political power.
• The persistent attacks against the Muslims perceived as illegal migrants has given way to radicalisation.
• In the recent decades, trafficking of women and human smuggling have become quite rampant across the borders.
• The rule of law and integrity of the country are undermined by the illegal migrants who are engaged in illegal and anti-national activities.
• Centre had issued instructions to the State governments and Union Territory administrations, advising them to sensitise the law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take appropriate steps for prompt identification of illegal migrants.
• Consolidated instructions to tackle the issue of overstay and illegal migration of foreign nationals have also been issued.
• The act empowered the government to make rules requiring persons entering India to be in possession of passports.
• It also granted the government the power to remove from India any person who entered without a passport.
• It replaced the Foreigners Act, 1940 conferring wide powers to deal with all foreigners.
• The act empowered the government to take such steps as are necessary to prevent illegal migrants including the use of force.
• The concept of ‘burden of proof’ lies with the person, and not with the authorities given by this act is still applicable in all States and Union Territories. This concept has been upheld by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court .
• The act empowered the government to establish tribunals which would have powers similar to those of a civil court.
• Recent amendments (2019) to the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 empowered even district magistrates in all States and Union Territories to set up tribunals to decide whether a person staying illegally in India is a foreigner or not.
• Registration under Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) is a mandatory requirement under which all foreign nationals (excluding overseas citizens of India ) visiting India on a long term visa (more than 180 days) are required to register themselves with a Registration Officer within 14 days of arriving in India.
• Pakistani nationals visiting India are required to register within 24 hours of arrival regardless of the duration of their stay.
• It provides for the acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship.
• Moreover, the Constitution has also provided citizenship rights for Overseas Citizens of India, Non-Resident Indians , and Persons of Indian Origin.

Illegal Migrants Vs Refugee

• The foreign nationals who enter the country without valid travel documents are treated as illegal migrants.
• India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon.
• Stateless persons may also be refugees in this sense, where country of origin (citizenship) is understood as ‘country of former habitual residence’.

Way Forward

• In spite of not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, India has been one of the largest recipients of refugees in the world.
• However, if India had domestic legislation regarding refugees, it could have deterred any oppressive government in the neighborhood to persecute their population and make them flee to India.
• Further, the absence of national refugee laws has blurred the distinction between refugees and economic migrants, leading to the denial of any assistance to even genuine asylum seekers.
• After India enacts its domestic refugee laws, it should also consider signing the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol after recording its reservations.
• It would be still better if India took the initiative to encourage other countries in the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to develop a SAARC convention or declaration on refugees in which member states would agree to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol and record their reservations to various clauses.

Source: PIB

• School Life

Engaging 10 Lines, Short and Long Essay on National Space Day 2024

National Space Day Essay 2024: As National Space Day is just around the corner (August 23), we have provided 10 lines, informative short, long essays and facts that students can use on the occasion. Students can utilize these essays for school competitions. Celebrate India’s stellar contributions to the world!

Essay on National Space Day for School Children: The first National Space Day (also known as ISRO Day) will be celebrated on August 23 this year. National Space Day is an occasion to recognize important achievements in the field of space exploration and advancements in space technology. The purpose behind observing this event is to develop interest in space science and technology among students and inspire future generations. 

August 23 was declared as National Space Day last year by the government. This was done to highlight the glorious achievements of our country’s space missions. It was also announced with the aim to honour the remarkable success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which achieved a safe and soft landing of the Vikram Lander at the 'Shiv Shakti' point and deployed the Pragyaan Rover on the lunar surface on August 23, 2023. 

Also Check: National Space Day 2024: CBSE Guidelines and Activities For Schools

10 Lines on National Space Day 

National Space Day Essay in 100 Words

India’s inspiring journey in space exploration will be celebrated in the form of National Space Day on August 23, 2024. This will be the first time that this event will be observed. This day will honour our country’s progress in space exploration and technology. The government established this day last year on August 23, 2023 to mark the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.

The scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) devoted all their time and energy to make the Chandrayaan-3 mission a success after the failure of Chandrayaan-2. National Space Day commemorates this historic achievement. 

National Space Day Essay in 200 Words 

National Space Day will be observed on August 23, 2024. This year will mark the first celebration of this day. National Space Day is also known as ISRO Day. On National Space Day, people will come together to celebrate India’s glorious achievements in the areas of space missions and explorations. It was on August 23, 2023 that National Space Day was established to honour the contributions of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). 

On this day last year, India achieved the historic feat of becoming the first nation to land near the lunar South Pole. The Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved a safe and soft landing of the Vikram Lander at the 'Shiv Shakti' point and deployed the Pragyaan Rover on the lunar surface on August 23. National Space Day highlights India’s dedication towards space research. 

The importance of National Space Day lies in the extraordinary success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the devotion of the ISRO scientists. The theme for the celebration of National Space Day is ‘Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India’s Space Saga’.

This day is an opportunity to pay heartfelt tribute to India’s efforts in space missions. On this National Space Day, we should promote national pride. 

National Space Day Essay in 500 Words 

National Space Day will be observed on August 23, 2024. It recognizes the achievements that India has achieved in space exploration and the advancements she has made in space technology. It was on August 23, 2023 that the government announced that from 2024, this day will be celebrated as National Space Day. 

 India became the first nation to land near the lunar South Pole on August 23, 2023.. National Space Day celebrates the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission which achieved a safe and soft landing of the Vikram Lander at the 'Shiv Shakti' point and deployed the Pragyaan Rover on the lunar surface. Behind the success of this mission, lies the hardwork and dedication of the scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). 

ISRO was initially the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), established in 1962. ISRO, formed on August 15, 1969, superseded INCOSPAR. Chandrayaan-3 came after the failure of Chandrayaan-2. Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22, 2019. In September, ISRO lost contact with the Vikram lander as it crashed. This happened due to the high velocity of the lander. 

Chandrayaan-3 displayed India’s commitment to space exploration and to unravel the mysteries of the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 consisted of an indigenous Lander module (LM), Propulsion module (PM) and a Rover with the purpose of developing and demonstrating new technologies needed for Inter planetary missions. The rover's purpose was to carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface. 

Chandrayaan 3 was launched at 2:35 pm on July 14, 2023 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The rover made a successful soft landing on the Moon at 6:30 pm on August 24, 2023. It was put to sleep in September. 

The objectives of the mission were to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, to demonstrate rover roving on the Moon and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3 focused on- to carry out the measurements of thermal properties of lunar surface near polar region, to derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition, to determine the elemental composition of lunar soil and rocks etc. 

 It will also help in the future discoveries of smaller planets in reflected light which will allow us to probe into a variety of Exo-planets which would qualify for the presence of life. Apart from this, ISRO has launched many missions such as the Aditya-L1 mission (September 2, 2023). It is the first space based Indian mission to study the Sun. 

Few of the prominent future missions of ISRO are- Gaganyaan-1 (demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bring them back safely), NISAR (being developed by ISRO with NASA, first dual frequency radar imaging mission), Shukrayaan (mission to study Venus), Mangalyaan-2 (India’s second mission to Mars). 

Interesting Facts For National Space Day 

You can use these additional facts to add value to your essay. 

1. Space research activities began in India in the early 1960’s. 

2.Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was the founding father of the Indian space programme.

 3.The first ‘Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station (ESCES)’ located in Ahmedabad was operationalized in 1967. It also acted as a training centre for the Indian as well as International scientists and engineers.

4.ISRO’s first satellite, Aryabhatta, was launched in 1975. 

5.Chandrayaan-1 made India the fourth nation to hoist its flag on the Moon. 

6.ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission made India the first nation to reach its orbit in the first attempt itself.

Use these essays to commemorate India's achievements in space and inspire all to reach for the stars. 

Also, check

National Space Day Speech 2024: Check Short and Long Speech in English

National Space Day 2024 पर छोटे और बड़े निबंध हिंदी में: 10 पंक्तियां यहां प्राप्त करें

National Space Day 2024: 23 अगस्त 2024 राष्ट्रीय अंतरिक्ष दिवस पर छोटे और बड़े भाषण यहाँ पढ़ें

Chandrayaan 3 Essay in English for School Students

Chandrayaan 3: Scientists Behind ISRO Moon Mission

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