Abstract
This chapter summarizes the main findings of this book. It shows that contemporary trends in migration in the Americas point to a mixed record characterized by continuities and transformations. Among the continuities, our collective research finds that in spite of growing restrictions and increased anti-immigrant sentiments, the United States remains the primary magnet for migrants in the region. With regard to transformations, it underscores a process of migratory transition blurring conventional distinctions between countries of origin, transit and destination and, concomitantly, migrants and refugees’ destinations and routes both in intraregional South–South and North–South migration. Other important transformations include the rise of people unable to reach their destinations and unwilling to return to their countries of origin who remain in a state of circularity; growing return of migrants to their countries of origin; a sharp rise of mixed migration flows (migrants, refugees and other displaced persons) prompted by new conditions of violence, particularly in Mesoamerica; and lastly, changes in migration governance in several countries derived from anti-immigrant sentiment.
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Notes
- 1.
After leading the charts for decades, in 2013 Mexicans ceased to be the top source of recent immigrants into the United States (Chishti and Hipsman 2015). In 2016, 150,000 Mexicans moved into the United States, making it the third largest nationality after Indians (175,000) and Chinese (160,000) (Zong et al. 2018).
- 2.
Between 2007 and 2015, the total number of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in the United States increased by 25% (Cohn et al. 2017).
- 3.
The number of Cubans migrating to the United States rose from 31,000 in 2015 to 54,000 in 2016 (Zong et al. 2018).
- 4.
Parent (2017) is among the few exploring this matter, providing an interesting first look into the condition of the recent migration of Venezuelans to Peru.
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Feldmann, A.E., Bada, X., Schütze, S. (2019). Conclusion. In: Feldmann, A., Bada, X., Schütze, S. (eds) New Migration Patterns in the Americas. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89384-6_13
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