Crossroads: The Psychology of Immigration in the New Century

contributed to the growth of undocumented immigration
over the last 2 decades (Anderson, 2010; Massey, 2008).
Humanitarian Refuge
Humanitarian refuge also contributes to U.S. immigration.
By the first decade of the 21st century, there were
approximately half-a-million refugee adults and children
in the United States—1.3% of its entire foreign-born
population and 8% of the world’s refugee population
(United Nations Development Programme [UNDP],
2010). Refugees usually apply for entry to the United
States from overseas processing centers, often in refugee
camps located in countries of first asylum, but the United
States also considers asylum claims from individuals already
in this country. The stated U.S. immigration policy goal is
to provide shelter to those fleeing their native countries
who face risk of persecution (CBO, 2006). U.S. refugee
policy has historically tended to favor individuals coming
from countries with which it has political conflicts (e.g.,
Cuba, Vietnam, and Iraq). In the last decade, the top
10 nation sources for asylum seekers have been China,
Mexico, Haiti, Ethiopia, Nepal, Russia, Guatemala, India,
El Salvador, and Colombia (Wasem, 2011). During the
same period, successful asylum has been granted to seekers
from the following top 10 countries: China, Colombia,
Haiti, Ethiopia, Venezuela, Armenia, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, and
Indonesia (Wasem, 2011).
The rate of asylum denial is quite high, depending on
national origin, presiding judge, and whether the individual
is represented by an attorney (Kanstroom, 2010). Over
the course of the last decade, the rate of denial has ranged
nationally from 50% to 63% (Transactional Records Access
Clearinghouse, 2010). When denied, many asylum seekers
disappear into the morass of undocumented status for fear
of returning to their home countries (Kanstroom, 2010).
Reasons for seeking humanitarian refuge include war and
violence as well as environmental catastrophes.
War and violence. After nearly every war, there is a
subsequent movement of people (Rumbaut, 1995; U.N.
High Commissioner on Refugees [UNHCR], 2009).
For example, following the end of the Spanish-American
war in 1898, migration began out of the Philippines and
Puerto Rico to the United States. Likewise, migrants
flowed out of Korea after the Korean War ended in
1953 and out of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia when the
Vietnam War ended in 1975. The current conflicts in Iraq
and Afghanistan are resulting in large-scale displacements
and substantial flows to the United States (UNHCR,
2009). Worldwide, the number of people forcibly uprooted
by conflict and persecution stood at 42 million at the end
of 2009 after sharp slowdowns in repatriation and ongoing
conflicts resulted in protracted displacements. This includes
16 million refugees and asylum seekers and another 26
million internally displaced people uprooted within their
own countries (see UNHCR, 2009).
Environmental catastrophes. Environmental catastrophes
destabilize social systems and generate mass migration. When
a devastating hurricane forced over 2.5 million Hondurans
to flee their homes in 1998, many immigrated to the United
States, which had not previously been a primary destination
point. The Honduran experience might be a harbinger of
future migrations. Approximately 25 million people are now
“environmental refugees.” Environmental migration is a
fairly new domain to be recognized in scholarship, and thus
limited data are available. Yet according to some estimates,
environmental degradation, especially deforestation and
rising sea levels, is projected to cause 200 million people to
become refugees by 2050 (United Nations Environment
Programme, 2010).
Family Motivations
Regardless of whether immigrants migrate for economic
reasons or to seek refuge, they are likely to bring family
members with them. Many economic immigrants are
propelled to migrate to help support family members.
Remittances to relatives left behind in the country of
origin have grown substantially over the last 2 decades
(World Bank, 2011). Even in the context of the global
recession, remittances from immigrants in the United
States and high-income countries have surpassed “325
billion dollars in 2010 far exceeding the volume of official
aid flows and gross domestic product (GDP) in many
developing countries” (World Bank, 2011, p. vii). Family
reunification can be a long and arduous process. Immigrant
family members originating from the largest “sending”
countries (where the largest numbers of immigrants
originate) typically face decade-long bureaucratic gridlocks
(Anderson, 2010) and legal complications (Thronson, 2004,
2008).
16 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration