South Asian Migration Since 1945
Before 1945, the South Asian immigrant population was small. After World War II, immigration increased substantially. Indian students came to study different science courses in the United States. These students undertook studies in science, medicine, business, and engineering, and they became the core node of the immigration network (Brown et al., 26). These students who came to the United States formed a basis for the immigration network that led to increasing Indian populations in the United States. Since 1970, Indians have been among the top ten communities that migrate to the United States.
Indians immigrate to the United States for employment and a better life. Studies have shown that since 1970, the number of Indian immigrants has increased steadily. Thus, migration from India accelerated between 1965 and 1990. The elimination of national-origin quotas led to the introduction of skilled-worker visas. By 2016, Indians topped the recipients of United States H-1B temporary visas, and the second-largest group of international students in the country today consists of Indians (Brown et al., 35). The majority of Indians in the United States are young, highly literate, and work in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). Thus, empire theory explains the reason for the immigration of the Indian community to the States. India has borrowed Western technology and has invested heavily in it, thus creating low wages and pay in these fields. Thus, the top brains are leaving the country to go and work abroad. Also, the core countries introduced their political, military, economic, and cultural systems that only benefit the core countries (Brown et al., 40). For instance, Indian engineers and medics left their country to offer their services to the United States while their country had underdeveloped infrastructure and treatment facilities.
Mexican Migration Since 1945
In the 1940s, during wartime, the American workforce was absorbed by wartime industries. This led the US’s policies toward the Mexican government to change. Thus, the United States and Mexican governments created a policy called the Bracero Program (Angelucci, 225). The program was created by the United States to address the labor market in the economy. The braceros (laborers) were paid low wages and worked under harsh conditions that the American workforce was unwilling to accept. The braceros were treated badly in some states, and even the Mexican government decided not to send more laborers to Texas. The program continued to exist until 1964. The braceros worked for US farmers. Under this program, it is estimated that more than 5 million Mexicans came to the United States, and a substantial number of these Mexican migrants stayed (Angelucci, 227). In the same period, the USA started a deportation campaign on a larger scale. The campaign led to the deportation of a substantial number of Mexicans to Mexico. Since then, there have been increasing numbers of undocumented immigrants from Mexican communities to the United States. Using empire theory and the concept of cultural imperialism can explain the major cause of migration. Mexicans migrated to the United States in search of employment opportunities, better education, and better healthcare. Thus, the United States was interested in low-wage laborers from Mexico, thereby exploiting labor from Mexican immigrants.
Comparison and Contrast between the Migration of South Asians and Mexicans:
Both South Asian and Mexican communities migrated to the United States in search of better education. Political instability and economic instability in these communities’ home countries led some individuals to migrate in search of a better education system. The core countries imposed their education systems on these countries, but the home countries did not have enough experience to manage these systems. For instance, Indians have come to undertake scientific studies in medicine, engineering, and technology. Also, South Asians and Mexicans migrated in search of employment opportunities. Mexican communities migrated under the Bracero Program. The Bracero Program was an initiative between the American and Mexican governments that allowed Mexicans to come to work in the United States. Mexicans offered cheap labor, which suited American farmers as well. They were willing to work under harsh conditions, whereas Indians also came in search of employment. Therefore, both communities migrated to the United States in search of good opportunities and better lives due to their countries’ perpetual state of underdevelopment (Gonzalez, 12).
South Asian immigrants were allowed on the basis that they could offer skilled labor. Indians who entered to migrate to the United States had to have skills and techniques for skilled labor. Meanwhile, Mexican immigrants offered unskilled labor and were allowed to do so since they could offer cheap labor. Thus, the contrast is that Asians offered skilled labor while Mexicans offered unskilled labor. For instance, the majority of Indians in the United States are young, highly literate, and work in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, while the majority of Mexican immigrants work as casual laborers (Tindall, 2016). The majority of Indian immigrants came to undertake studies, while the majority of the Mexican community came for employment reasons.
Works Cited
Angelucci, Manuela. “Migration and financial constraints: Evidence from Mexico.” Review of Economics and Statistics97.1 (2015): 224-228.
Brown, Judith M., and Rosemary Foot, eds. Migration: the Asian experience. Springer, 2016.
Gonzalez, Gilbert G. Guest workers or colonized labor?: Mexican labor migration to the United States. Routledge, 2015.
Tindall, George Brown, and David E. Shi. America: A narrative history. WW Norton & Company, 2016.
Academic Master Education Team is a group of academic editors and subject specialists responsible for producing structured, research-backed essays across multiple disciplines. Each article is developed following Academic Master’s Editorial Policy and supported by credible academic references. The team ensures clarity, citation accuracy, and adherence to ethical academic writing standards
Content reviewed under Academic Master Editorial Policy.
