A little over a decade before Amin traveled to the US, a large amount of Central Americans migrated to Belize. These people were leaving their country because of political and economic troubles. Those people specifically chose Belize because it had policies that made it easy to immigrate. It also had a good amount of agricultural labor jobs that most Belizeans didn’t want. As Central Americans interned Belize, Belizeans left Belize. The majority of them went to the United states. It was also shown that the years leading up to 2000 the majority of the migrants had higher education. This emigration is the biggest in Belizean History. Historians speculate the causation for this correlation is that the immigrants were willing to work for lower wages. In the particular time frame of Amins departure, between 1990 and 1994, Belize accepted 6% worth of immigrants. The country accepted a large amount of immigrants to counteract the imbalance created from the large amount of  emigrants. By the year Amin’s mother left, 1995, migrants made up 17.5% of the total population of Belize.

These historical events could have given Amin’s mother the push needed to leave the country. One reason could be that most of the jobs available were agricultural labor jobs. Amin’s mother went on to get a masters degree so she was mostly likely uninterested in that kind of work. Even if she was, more immigrants came to Belize during the years leading to her departure . As previously stated, by the time she left 17.5% of the population were migrants. The problem was that these migrants would work for lower wages. The result of them taking lower wages is that there are less jobs and the jobs that are available pay less than they should. Another important connection is that she fits into the statistic that most of the migrants leading up to the 2000’s had higher education. She also fits into the statistic that the majority of emigrants went to the US. this could be because she wanted to continue her education in a place that is known to have good universities.During the interview Amin also explained that she moved to Illinois because there were family members already there. Maybe they were a part of the same movement of Belizean emigrants but just left earlier than she did. Maybe the majority of Belizeans went to the US because they already had family that had moved. Is not hard to believe that the initial emigrants went to the US. It is known that there is a common conception that the United States is a place for migrants who want to do better for themselves. The patterns of immigration and emigration in Belize gives us insight into the reasons why Amin’s mother would have left the country and taken him with her to the US.

Six years before Amin’s arrival in the United States, congress enacted the Immigration Act of 1990. The act increased the number of immigrant visas available as well as made permanent legal immigration easier to obtain. In result of this, the amount of immigrants increased by 35%. The substantial increase in migrants after the act shows how much more people were motivated to migrate to the US and how accepting the government was to them as well.  Amins mother was probably motivated by the amount of people who were moving there as well as the seemingly easy process of migrating. She was also probably made aware by her family in the United States that more visas were being made available and citizenship might be easier to come by. This is proof that government policies can have a direct effect on the future of families.

In more recent news, in 2012 former president Obama announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA. It was created to give immigrant youth work permits and protection from deportation. Although in 2017, Trump announced that DACA would be coming to an end. After some time the court decided the administration did not give justifiable is reasons for concluding the program. In result, they are being given ninety days to come up with some or else they must begin renewing and receiving DACA applications again. This information directly affects Amin since he was illegally brought to the US when he was under the age of 16. In result, the outcome will change the course of his migrant story.

In summation, since Amin migrated at such a young age, he was at the will of his mother. The reason for his mother migrating might have been that she was looking for jobs that suited and paid her better. She may have migrated to the US specifically because she wanted to continue her education and move to a place where she already knew people. She might had also been motivated by  the Immigration Act of 1990. Amin is now an adult and able to determine where he stays. He has explain to me that he is motivated to stay because it is what he knows and believes is the better of the two options. In his interview, Amin declares that he believes that the United States gives him unique opportunities that he would not have in Belize. Despite his desire to stay, the outcome of the DACA program will determine the rest of his story.

      Through interviewing Amin I found many connections between what he told me and articles we had read for class. Five articles in particular stuck out in my mind while conducting and rereading the interview. The five articles include “To me migration is a necessity and just natural”, “5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S”,  “Transnationalism: A New Analytic Framework for Understanding Migration”,  “Why Migration”, and “A UN study says the number of people who migrated to foreign countries surged by 41 percent over the last 15 years to reach 244 million in 2015”. Each of these articles add to and build off of the information Amin gave in the interview.

      In the Article “To me migration is a necessity and just natural.” the author, Astrid, tells her migration story. She came to the United States from Mexico when she was four to join her father who had already been working here.  She crossed over by bus and then by river. She talks about how that experience shaped who she is today. Her family has lived here undocumented for 24 years. Even though she was born in Mexico, she was raised in the US. She considers herself an “American with Mexican roots”. Astrid goes on to say how this kind of thing creates a certain dynamic between parent and child where they both protect each other. She continues with saying how grateful she is and how she admires their strength. Astrid finishes it off with saying how migration is natural and even though some Americans are afraid of it she still has hope for the future. Her story is similar to Amin’s. They both migrated around the same age. Amin came when he was three and Astrid came when she was four. They both followed a parent who had already started living in the United States, came from Central America, and talk about how this experience has changed them.

      In the Article “5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S” the authors ,Jens Krogstad et al., create a list of five insightful points. The first of them being  that “There were 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2015”. Second is that “Mexicans may no longer be the majority of U.S. unauthorized immigrants”. The third is that “The U.S. civilian workforce includes 8 million unauthorized immigrants, accounting for 5% of those who were working or were unemployed and looking for work”. The Fourth fact is that “Six states account for 59% of unauthorized immigrants: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois”. Lastly, the fifth point is that “A rising share of unauthorized immigrants have lived in the U.S. for at least a decade.” This article relates to Amin because he is an unauthorized immigrant who isn’t Mexican. Actually from 2009 to 2015, the number of unauthorized immigrants from Asia and Central America rose. Amin also has a job, resides in Illinois, and has lived in the United States for more than 20 years. Surprisingly, each of the points brought up in the article relates to Amin!

      In the Article “Transnationalism: A New Analytic Framework for Understanding Migration” the authors, Nina Schiller et al., talk about transnationalism. Transnationalism  is the “process by which immigrants build social fields that link together their country of origin and their country of settlement” (page 1). This relates to Amin because he is a migrant who practices traditions and brings back pieces of his culture to where he lives. This was especially true when he lived around more of his family. When that happened it created a kind of pocket of Belizean Culture.

      In the article “Why Migration” the author, Saskia Sassen, discusses how the Immigration act of 1990 allowed a big influx of migrants into the United States. They discuss when the US opens the flow of goods between its and other countries economies it forms linkages between countries which serves as bridges for migration. And since the government doesn’t control the market place it allows immigration to occur. The article continues to explain how usually the things meant to deter emigration, such as foreign investment, has only has the opposite effect. This relates to Amin because since Belize was colonized by Britain, Belizeans speak english. In result of this Belize is a big tourist spot for Americans and the British. The top two countries that Belizeans emigrated two was those two. This article explains why that is. The commodity of tourism and colonization has created bridges between the US and Belize and Britain.

      In the article “A UN study says the number of people who migrated to foreign countries surged by 41 percent over the last 15 years to reach 244 million in 2015” the author, Alexandra Olson, discusses how in the last 15 years the number of migrants increased by 41 percent. 8 percent of those people are refugees. Olson also talked about how the US is the country with the largest portion of the world’s migrants. Latin america and the caribbean is the third largest regional source of international migration. This article proved that the more connected we become the more migration will continue to grow. This article relates to Amin because Belize is considered a part of Latin America and explains how the amount of migrants are continuing to grow even after he left Belize. This might create more migrants with stories similar to his.

      I believe the lessons my brother would want the readers to learn are, first, the process to become a citizen need to change. Second, there needs to be more financial help for undocumented students. Third, being a US citizen is a privilege that a lot of people take for granted. The interview I conducted with him also illuminated some of the key issues we’ve examined during the semester. When asked “Why couldn’t your interviewee find that elusive “better life” in their homeland?” he answered by saying  Belize has a different mentality/way of life. It is a lot more laid back so it’s easy to not feel the need to progress. Schools in Belize are also known to not be as good as the ones in America. The country is a lot less culturally diverse. Belize does not have many jobs in the pastry-chef-field which is where Amin wants to work. Even if he did find a job, they don’t pay nearly as well as the ones in the US. When asked about remittances he said he didn’t really send them or remember his mom sending them while growing up. When I looked online I found 5% of Belize’s GDP while a country such as Tonga who depends on remittances has a percentage of 33%. Lastly when I asked Amin about what “bridges” of connection brought them to the US?” he explained he had previously emigrated family that lived in in Chicago which is why they moved there.  

Works Cited

Astrid. “To Me Migration Is a Necessity and Just Natural.” i Am a Migrant, International Organization for Migration, 21 Dec. 2016, iamamigrant.org/stories/united-states/astrid.

“Belize - Overview of the History of International Migration in Belize.” Belize - Overview of the History of International Migration in Belize, OAS, www.migracionoea.org/index.php/en/sicremi-en/225-belice-1-si-ntesis-histo-rica-de-la-migracio-n-internacional-en-belice-2.html.

“ DACA Information.” UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT PROGRAM, Berkeley University of California, undocu.berkeley.edu/legal-support-overview/what-is-daca/.

Davidson, Miriam. Lives on the Line: Dispatches from the U.S.-Mexico Border. University of Arizona Press, 2000.

“Immigration-Related Statistics, 1995.” CIS.org, Center for Immigration Studies, 1 July 1995, cis.org/Report/ImmigrationRelated-Statistics-1995.

Krogstad, Jens Manuel, et al. “5 Facts about Illegal Immigration in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 27 Apr. 2017, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/27/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/.

“Late Twentieth Century.” USCIS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 4 Feb. 2016, www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/agency-history/late-twentieth-century.

Olson, Alexandra. “A UN Study Says the Number of People Who Migrated to Foreign Countries Surged by 41 Percent over the Last 15 Years to Reach 244 Million in 2015.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 12 Jan. 2016, www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-01-12/un-international-migration-surged-41-percent-since-2000.

“Personal Remittances, Received (% of GDP).” The World Bank, World Bank Group, data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS?end=2016&start=1995.

Sassen, Saskia. “Why Migration?” Race, Poverty, and the Environment, 1993, pp. 15–20. JSTOR, myasucourses.asu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-17386139-dt-content-rid-118663456_1/courses/2018Spring-W-ASB340-SOC328-18557-18986/Sassen%2C%20Why%20Migration%201993.pdf.

Schiller, Nina G, et al. “Transnationalism: A New Analytic Framework for Understanding Migration.” Towards a Transnational Perspective on Migration: Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Nationalism Reconsidered, 1st ed., vol. 645, ser. 24, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1992. 24.

“Unemployment, Total (% of Total Labor Force) (Modeled ILO Estimate).” The World Bank, World Bank Group, data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?end=2017&page=5&start=1995.