Heidi Ostbo Haugen and Tabitha Speelman’s  article “China’s Rapid Development Has Transformed Its Migration Trends,” discusses the internal migration trends of China and the role that the history of socioeconomic reforms play in the increase. According to Ostbo Haugen and Speelman (2022), “The story of China’s mobility boom starts at home, with millions of internal migrants moving from the country’s rural interior to the coastal areas, where they have contributed to the country’s urbanization and export-driven manufacturing growth.” The 2020 census identified nearly 376 million people lived someplace other than their household registration areas. This change in location has caught China’s attention and caused it to analyze more about these changes. 

Ostbo Haugen and Speelman also discuss how China’s strict family planning policies from the 1980s has had an impact on the reasoning behind why there are smaller working groups entering the labor force. Ostbo Haugen and Speelman state that “labor shortages did not drive the surge in international migration to China in this period, and little precedent or regulation exists for the immigration of unskilled workers. Instead, increased immigration was a result of new professional, commercial, and educational opportunities in China.” The ever changing population contributes to the socioeconomic status of the country. 

When I came across this article it really connected to the material we read and analyzed in the module. With an increase of humans there is the need to change or adjust infrastructure to the area. In Internal migration within China, Australian Geography Teachers Association states that “When populations migrate there is a changed demand on infrastructure in both the place they emigrate from and the place they immigrate to.” This reminds us to always have a global perspective when considering important decisions for major groups of people. Constant changes in populations, as seen in China, requires meeting the ever changing needs of the population. 

References: 

Australian Geography Teachers Association (2013) Internal migration within China. Educational     resource authored for Teachers and Students F-10.

Ostbo Haugen, Heidi and Speelman, Tabitha. (2022, January 28) China’s Rapid Development Has Transformed Its Migration Trends. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/china-development-transformed-migration

For all college bound students, but in particular immigrant students, access to education is vital to support the local and national economy. Undocumented and DACA students face significant challenges when considering college as an avenue to economic mobility. Most often, immigrant youth are having to find ways to provide means to a decent way of life but only at a basic level of survival. Here we learn about Emmanuel Diaz and his affinity to his home state of Georgia. The argument to improve the economic status within the host country inspires his advocacy for tuition equity.

State policies that address college tuition access for immigrant students vary across the country. Emmanuel finds himself living in one of the most restrictive states which prohibit financial aid support and enrollment to public institutions of higher education. The U.S. is the host country to high numbers of immigrants, trending at approximately 427,000 plus immigrant students (Higher Ed Immigration Portal, 2022). There is a clear opportunity to develop policies that support economic mobility for immigrant youth. The states that are home to the most immigrants (California, Texas, Florida) have supportive policies that provide either or both access to college enrollment and financial aid support, but those state are few in number (Higher Ed Immigration Portal, 2022).

As transnationalism occurs as a global movement, laws and policies interfere with this process. Across the readings, we learn that the solutions that will alleviate these educational access challenges are restricted by policies. Fassin writes to the “promise versus the reality” of immigration: the pursuit of a better life at the expense of racialization connected to one’s immigrant identity (2011). Bias is further perpetuated with bias regarding immigrant students who do not access to continue their education. Similar to the global south immigrant movement, South Africa’s Bill of Rights functions to that of the United States’ version of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by way of granting “the right to basic education” for all students (Crush and Tawodzera, 2013). Emmanuel’s story is one of thousands and he makes the valid point of the missed opportunity for the state of Georgia to strengthen its economic wealth.

References:

Crush, J., & Tawodzera, G. (2013). The perilous trek: Zimbabwean migrant children and teachers in South Africa. In Refugees, Immigrants, and Education in the Global South (pp. 66-81). Routledge.

Fassin, D. (2011). Policing borders, producing boundaries. The governmentality of immigration in dark times. Annual Review of Anthropology, 40, 213-226.

Higher Ed Immigration Portal. (2022, April 7). Portal to the States. https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/states/