Caribbean Migration as a Structural Reality. Occasional Papers Series, Dialogues #13.

Demographic and economic conditions in the Caribbean region combine with social and historical factors to create a structural migration situation: direction and magnitude of the flow might shift, pressures pushing Caribbean Islanders toward migration are constant. Five structural "pull" features encourage migration: (2) the self-contained geographical space of the Caribbean; (2) the tendency of movement to the United States to be preceded by earlier moves, very often to sites of American-financed or managed job opportunities; (3) successful assimilation of Caribbeans into United States society; (4) the continuing role in international relations of ethnicity; and (5) Federal immigration law and national sentiment that support the principle of family reunification. Structural"push" factors, such as overpopulation, land hunger and land scarcity, also encourages migration. Caribbean nations' own efforts to industrialize and regulate migration (such as those made in Trinidad and Haiti) have not managed to solve the problems created by the large-scale migration of poor and unskilled workers, and the emigration to the United States of professionals and skilled workers. While measures such as the Caribbean Basin Initiative cannot cure the pressures of migration, they can help to alleviate internal economic problems and, therefore, they should be supported. Given the overall level of concern among all Caribbean governments, however, it appears that a Caribbean-wide approach to migration is overdue. (KH)