migration in the caribbean essay

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Challenges and opportunities of migration in the Caribbean

March 29, 2023 por Valerie Lacarte - Ana María Sáiz - Jordi Amaral - Diego Chaves-González - Jeremy Harris Leave a Comment

Migration has long been part of the fabric of Caribbean nations’ experience. But while Caribbean migration is often discussed in the context of out-migration to the United States, Canada, and European countries, movement to and within the Caribbean is an equally important part of this story. In recent decades, due in great part to climate change, natural disasters, and shifts in global mobility patterns, the migration landscape in the Caribbean has also changed significantly.

To provide governments, stakeholders, and external partners interested in strengthening the region’s capacity to accommodate changing migration patterns, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Migration Policy Institute have partnered to provide a policy review on migration in the Caribbean.

The report Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review provides those interested in human mobility across Latin America and the Caribbean with a general overview of the Caribbean region’s extra- and intraregional migration trends, institutional frameworks, and the challenges and opportunities that new migration flows present for its development and regional integration.

Recent changes in the migratory flows in the Caribbean

In 2020, there were an estimated 859,400 intraregional and 745,700 extraregional immigrants living in Caribbean countries. The intraregional share of migrants grew from 46% in 2000 to 56% in 2020.

The intraregional share and origins of immigrants vary across countries. In the nine primary countries studied in the report—The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago—immigrants from other Caribbean nations made up 63 percent of all immigrants in 2020. Intraregional migration was most common in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Barbados, and The Bahamas, and Haitians were by far the largest group of immigrants across these countries, followed by Guyanese.

Extraregional migration in the Caribbean

In some countries, there are notable populations of immigrants from outside the region. Venezuelans represent the second largest immigrant population (after Haitians) across the nine countries analyzed and are present in particularly large numbers in the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. Immigrants from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Canada were also present in many of these nine countries.

Intraregional migration in the Caribbean

Similar to patterns of migration worldwide, migrants within the Caribbean tend to originate in countries with lower standards of living and fewer opportunities, moving to more advanced economies with more employment opportunities. As such, countries and territories with thriving tourism industries and higher incomes, such as The Bahamas, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, tend to attract nationals from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Jamaica. Moreover, a smaller number of high-skilled workers from countries such as Jamaica, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago tend to migrate to countries where they will have greater employment opportunities and receive higher incomes.

The impact of climate change and natural disasters on migration in the Caribbean

Climate change and natural disasters have been important drivers of internal, intraregional, and extraregional displacement in the Caribbean, and experts have expressed concerns that the frequency and impact of climate-related events are only likely to grow in the years to come. In recent decades, the region has experienced several devastating hurricanes, which are likely the most impactful type of natural disaster in the region, in addition to earthquakes, tropical storms, floods, and drought, all of which have forced people to leave their homes. These disasters are among the contributing factors to the increased migration of Caribbean nationals, particularly Haitians, to both South and North America.

Regional frameworks and institutions that facilitate mobility

Regional agreements and other forms of cooperation have also emerged as prominent features of mobility in the region. As an example, under CARICOM’s Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), nationals of CSME Member States benefit from six-month stays without a visa in other Community countries. While these six-month stays do not come with work authorization, the CSME also includes a Skills Certificates regime that provides free mobility and works authorization for specific categories of workers.

Additionally, the region’s public university system, the University of the West Indies, has facilitated migration for educational purposes, mainly within the anglophone Caribbean.

Challenges for a stronger regional integration

The region’s unique free mobility regimes have, to some extent, helped facilitate the movement of displaced people and response workers during times of environmental crisis. Yet a closer look at the Caribbean’s migratory systems indicates that, in most of the countries included in the study, these regimes are out of date, and this limits societies’ capacity to manage migration and successfully integrate new immigrants.

Diaspora engagement: An opportunity for the development of the Caribbean

A final, crucial dimension of migration policy in the Caribbean is diaspora engagement in efforts to further the region’s economic development. Emigrants and their descendants are well-recognized for their role in channeling much-needed financial support to their families in the Caribbean through remittances, but their engagement with their countries of origin or ancestry can also take the form of business development and job creation, direct investment, and the strengthening of social and professional networks. Moreover, the Caribbean diaspora has contributed to the region via the transfer of knowledge and skills, including through targeted initiatives that seek to counter the decades-old problem of brain drain.

As Caribbean nations continue to face important migration and development challenges, dialogue through the region’s established institutions provides a path towards adapting Caribbean migratory systems, while ensuring that migration policies account for the concerns of sending and receiving countries.

Valerie Lacarte

Valerie Lacarte is a Senior Policy Analyst with MPI’s U.S. Immigration Policy Program, where she contributes to research design and conducts data analysis on a range of issues, including native-immigrant gaps in socioeconomic outcomes and access to public benefits for vulnerable immigrant and humanitarian populations. Dr. Lacarte earned a BA in economics from Université du Québec à Montréal, an MA in economics from Université de Montréal, and a PhD in economics from American University. For her dissertation, she used a mixed-methods approach to study the integration of Caribbean immigrants into the U.S. labor market and the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, and cultural gender norms.

Ana María Sáiz

Ana María Sáiz es Especialista Sectorial Senior en la Unidad de Migración del Sector Social del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID). Se incorporó al BID en 2005, inicialmente trabajando para el Departamento de Efectividad en el Desarrollo y Planificación Estratégica. Desde entonces, ha trabajado en varios sectores del BID y en el Departamento de País Centroamérica, Haití, México, Panamá y República Dominicana. Trabajó en Haití desde enero de 2013 hasta septiembre de 2018, liderando la cartera de la División de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, y se unió a la Unidad de Migración en abril de 2021 en la Sede, donde supervisa el trabajo relacionado con la migración en los países del Caribe y el Cono Sur, y es el punto focal para proyectos relacionados con Género y Diversidad. Ana María tiene un B.A. en economía de la Universidad de los Andes de Colombia, una maestría en Justicia Penal de la Universidad de Boston y actualmente está cursando una maestría en Planificación Urbana y Regional en la Universidad de Georgetown. Antes de unirse al BID, se desempeñó como Jefa de la Oficina de Planificación de la Superintendencia de Valores (Superintendencia de Valores de Colombia); y Asistente de Investigación de Econometría, S.A una firma consultora en Bogotá.

Jordi Amaral

Jordi Amaral is a Research Consultant at MPI, where he worked with the Latin America and Caribbean Initiative. He is a Research Analyst at Hxagon and a freelance researcher and writer specializing in Latin America and the Caribbean, migration, politics, human rights, security and rule of law, and development. Previously, he worked with the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Atlantic Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Central American Resource Center, and ONG Rescate. Mr. Amaral holds a BA in international affairs and Latin American and hemispheric studies from the George Washington University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude.

Diego Chaves-González

Diego Chaves-González is Senior Manager for MPI's Latin America and Caribbean Initiative, which aims to create dialogue and foster the exchange of innovative policy ideas among Latin American governments and their partners. Mr. Chaves-González’s research focuses on forced displacement, legal pathways, integration, migration and development, and regional cooperation in migration management. Mr. Chaves-González holds a master’s degree in economics and social development from Cardiff University, a master’s in public policy from Tecnológico de Monterrey, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and specialization in international relations from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá.

Jeremy Harris

Jeremy Harris ha trabajado en el BID por 20 años, desempeñándose como Economista y Especialista en Comercio del Sector de Integración y Comercio del Banco desde 2009. En el BID, ha trabajado en varios procesos de apoyo a las negociaciones comerciales de América Latina, incluyendo el CAFTA y el ALCA, con énfasis en las reglas de origen y acceso a mercados. También ha participado en el diseño y desarrollo de varias bases de datos y sistemas informáticos sobre acceso a mercados, y ha realizado estudios analíticos sobre los acuerdos comerciales y sus efectos sistémicos sobre el comercio regional y global. Fuera del BID, ha trabajado como consultor de la CEPAL, la CARICOM, el Departamento para el Desarrollo Internacional del Reino Unido (DFID) y la Agencia Alemana de Cooperación Técnica (GTZ). Tiene un PhD en Economía de la Universidad de Maryland.

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Migration Patterns in the Caribbean Essay

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Introduction

Types of migration in the caribbean, reference list.

Over the last one and a half centuries, migration in the minds of the Caribbean peoples has become intensely ingrained. It has developed as a means of bettering their lives through acquiring financial and social capital thus, the likelihood for migrating is very high and so is the response to chances to move whenever they arise. These opportunities have occurred both within the region and in recent times from North America and Europe. Migrants from the Caribbean have been attracted by economic growth which created labor shortage and other social opportunities. These are the “pull” factors. The “push” factors are the reasons which drive people away from their home countries such as poverty, lack of opportunities, land shortages, overcrowding and the need to broaden their horizons. However, migration is not just a submissive reaction to ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. A set of self-motivated negotiations exists at national and international contexts where a selective process is used to balance the need for immigration in the host country and potential for migration in the country of origin (Rowntree, Lewis, Price, & Wyckoff, 2007).

These are determined by the purpose of migration and the length of stay at the destination. This may include long-term stay, short-term stay or return migration. However, it is difficult to put rigid timeframes for determining the length of the stay. A migrant in all the three types of migration during his/her lifetime and a single family may engage in all the three types at the same time. In addition migration does not result in total displacement from his/her country of origin or community. This therefore leads to three types of migration experienced in the Caribbean (Rowntree, Lewis, Price, & Wyckoff, 2007).

Intra-regional migration

During the first three decades of the twentieth century, major movement of intra-regional migration was from the Anglophone to the Hispanic Caribbean and the Netherlands Antilles. By the middle of the twentieth century, this type of migration was mainly from the Anglophone countries, Haiti to the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic and from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. This migration was in response to specific developments or peak seasons of economic growth such as exploitation of oil in Trinidad, growth of tourism in the U.S Virgin Island, Cayman and the Bahamas. This is because a specific type of labor was in demand and immigration of this was encouraged. According to the 1991 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) census, there were 104,669 migration stocks in the Caribbean region and those from the Caribbean region accounted for the majority. Others forming a significant number were from USA, United Kingdom, Canada and India. The major contributors to intra-regional migration in this census were migrants from Grenada, St Vincent and Guyana (Elizabeth, 1999).

Characteristics of migrants

The age and sex distribution of migrants shows the reasons which influenced their migration. A relatively mature population of migrants was experienced in the 1980s mainly because they were in search of jobs. The data from specific countries also shows there was no gender imbalance in the migration (Elizabeth, 1999). The educational level of immigrants in the region also shows that immigrants have a higher level of education than both the populations they leave and that of the host, showing that the migration process is selective. Immigrants also engage in niche occupations as a result of chances made available by the economic and social structure of the countries of destination. In the Bahamas and the British Island non nationals are involved in unskilled work. The same case is witnessed in the Dominican Republic where immigrants from Haiti are in low paying, manual work which the locals can not do and in Puerto Rico manual labor is mostly by non-nationals from Dominican Republic who replace the nationals migrating to North America and Canada. In Jamaica, the trend is different where non-nationals in professional work account for 45.9% and 16.3% in managerial and 12% in technical. This could be attributed to the replacement of Jamaicans migrating to North America (Ferguson, 2003).

Extra-regional migration

These are migrations outside the Caribbean region. In the 1950s and 1960s, migrations were mainly to the United Kingdom and Netherlands from the former colonies. After 1962, migrations to the United States and Canada increased as those from Europe decreased due to opportunities created in the former by new legislations and restrictions in entry from the latter. Since then, migration to these two countries has increased over the years. Migrants to the US are mainly made up of Cubans, Dominican Republicans and the British Commonwealth Caribbean and Haiti. In the 1990s the stream from these countries has increased dramatically especially from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Immigrants from other small countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados are very significant in comparison to the small population sizes in their own countries. The US has also implemented refugee movement and guest worker programs in addition to regular visas which have seen migrants stay for long durations for work or education or both (Ferguson, 2003).

Return Migration

This describes movement of the people to their countries of origin for periodic or regular visits before they settle indefinitely. Even after settling indefinitely they continue to visit their former residents for varying durations of time. This also involves remittances either in financial capital or goods to their Caribbean countries of origin. This can be through formal or informal means either before, along with or following their return to their countries. Those with intention of returning may remit savings to invest in their own countries or others which they deem safer to invest in or may be recipients of pensions or social security payments for the rest of their lives and choose to return home. In Jamaica for example the personal transfers of the period between 1991 and 1997 were more than the foreign currency earned in other sectors and in Barbados transfers from Britain of pension payments in 1997 were approximately 6 million pounds sterling (Elizabeth, 1999).

Migration in the Caribbean region has a long history and has tended to follow “push” and “pull” factors. However, in recent history, selective processes which have encouraged migration to some countries and discouraged movement to others have been put in place. This has given rise to three types of migration patterns. Intra-region migration involves movement within the Caribbean region. Extra-regional migration has seen Caribbean people move to other countries of the world mainly in the UK and Netherlands first and then to the US and Canada. Return migration involves movement of Caribbean people in foreign countries to their countries of origin either to stay indefinitely or for duration of time. This has also seen the remittance of goods and financial capital to the Caribbean countries either as investments or pensions or other retirement benefits.

Elizabeth T. H. (1999). Trends and Patterns of Migration to and from Caribbean Countries. Goggles Docs. Web.

Ferguson, James. (2003). Migration in the Caribbean: Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Beyond. Minority Rights Group International. Goggles Docs. Web.

Rowntree, L., Lewis, M., Price, M., and Wyckoff, W. (2007). Globalization and Diversity, Geography of a Changing World. Pearson Education.

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IvyPanda. (2021, December 18). Migration Patterns in the Caribbean. https://ivypanda.com/essays/migration-patterns-in-the-caribbean/

"Migration Patterns in the Caribbean." IvyPanda , 18 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/migration-patterns-in-the-caribbean/.

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IvyPanda . 2021. "Migration Patterns in the Caribbean." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/migration-patterns-in-the-caribbean/.

1. IvyPanda . "Migration Patterns in the Caribbean." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/migration-patterns-in-the-caribbean/.

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Migration In the Caribbean: Current Trends, Opportunities And Challenges

Attachments.

1. Introduction

1.1 Executive Summary

Main Findings of this Working Paper

• In 2007, the Caribbean emigration rate was four times higher than Latin America’s overall emigration rate. The Caribbean emigration rate has somewhat slowed, but the region nevertheless remains an area of net emigration. Guyana and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines show the strongest emigration movements: 9.65 and 9.6 per 1000 people respectively were emigrating in 2013. Of the countries included in this study, the only confirmed2 net recipients of migrants are Antigua and Barbuda and Suriname, with immigration rates of 2.23 and 0.57 per 1,000 respectively for 2013 (CIA World Factbook, 2015).

• In absolute terms, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti have the largest diaspora communities: over a million emigrants each, with most living in the United States (World Bank, 2015). Guyana and Haiti are, in absolute terms, the primary countries of origin of intraregional migrants. In relative terms, Guyana and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have the most emigrants. Respectively, the emigrant population is 58.2 per cent and 55.5 per cent the size of the population living at home (World Bank, 2015).

• Over half of total Caribbean migrants to the US, Europe, and Canada are women. Furthermore, migrants are predominantly of productive and reproductive age. Cubans form an exception – the largest group of Cuban migrants is aged 45 and over (Thomas-Hope, 2000).

• Most Caribbean States grant citizenship at birth (jus soli), but this right is restricted in the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, and Suriname.

• The Caribbean islands are especially vulnerable to extreme weather events and global climate change – events and processes that can cause internal displacement and set in motion emigration processes. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are amongst the world’s countries most vulnerable to climate change: they occupy the third and eighth place on the Global Climate Risk Index (Kreft et al. 2015).

• In 2001, 59.5 per cent of Dominican Republic migrants in Spain were classified as unskilled3. By 2010, this percentage had dropped to 44.6 per cent (CEPAL, 2011, p.53). The drop represents both stricter selection (IOM, 2012), as well as the increase of skilled migrants from the Dominican Republic. By 2009, there were 129,669 Dominicans living regularly in Spain (CEPAL, 2011).

• The number of work permits awarded by Spain decreased by 463 per cent between 2008 and 2010 (IOM, 2012); however, the number of Dominican Republic migrants travelling to the EU – mostly to Spain – only dropped by 38 per cent in the same period.

• A total of 64.7 per cent of the total diaspora community of the countries included in this study is registered as living in the United States, representing 9.3 per cent of the total US immigrant community. Suriname is an outlier with only 3 per cent of Surinamese emigrants living in the United States (World Bank, 2015).

• In 2000, Dominican Republic migrants in the United States were found to be twice as likely to be unemployed as United States citizens, to be earning 65 per cent of the average US income, and 28.3 per cent of them living in conditions of poverty (CEPAL, 2007). These figures may signal the existence of a significant gap in economic opportunities between migrants and US born population in the United States.

• Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are unique in that the proportion of their immigrants in high-end positions is higher than the proportion of local born. In Barbados 25.8 per cent of the local workforce holds a high-end position, against 28.4 per cent of immigrant workers. In Trinidad and Tobago, these figures are 21.7 per cent and 26.9 per cent respectively (Fraser and Uche, 2010).

• High immigration flows, together with high emigration flows, has radically changed the ethnic composition of Belize. In 1980, the Mestizo population represented 33.4 per cent of the population, with 40 per cent of the population being Creole. In 2000, the Mestizo population had increased to 50 per cent and the Creole population had diminished to 25 per cent (ILO et al., p.16).

• Haitian migration to the Dominican Republic contradicts a general tendency that Caribbean intraregional migrants possess secondary or even tertiary education (Fraser and Uche 2010).

• 37 per cent of female Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic is economically active, and over 50 per cent of Haitian immigrants has less than four years of formal education (ACP Observatory on Migration, 2014, p. 16).

• Haiti is the Caribbean country most dependant on remittances. In 2014, 21.1 per cent of its GDP was derived from remittances. Jamaica (15%) and Guyana (11%) follow (World Bank, 2015). In absolute amounts, the Dominican Republic receives most remittances: USD 4.65 billion in 2014. The Dominican Republic is followed by Jamaica (USD 2.26 billion), and Haiti (USD 1.95 billion). Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago are net senders of remittances.

• It is believed that remittance flows toward the Caribbean countries could be up to 50 per cent higher if the money sent through unofficial channels was accounted for (World Bank, 2015). The contribution of remittances to the GDP of most Caribbean states is increasing slightly over the years (ibid).

• Of the countries in this study, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago have specific anti-trafficking laws. Only Cuba, Haiti, and Suriname have clauses in their legal framework that allow for the asylum of refugees. The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Suriname have legislation prohibiting the employment of immigrants in sectors that can be filled by the domestic labour market.

Key Trends Identified in this Working Paper

• Migration patterns from Latin America to Europe have always been driven by linguistic and colonial ties, but migration to Europe is no longer as significant as it once was. The exception is Spain, as it continues receiving immigrants from Latin America – including the Dominican Republic. In general, Europe has become the place for return migration, mostly of retirees and to a lesser extent of second generation migrants.

• In the 1960s the United States replaced Europe as main migrant destination, and remains the main destination for Caribbean migrants. Suriname forms an exception as it does not have a significant diaspora community or current migratory flows to the US. Canada is becoming increasingly popular for migrants from the English speaking Caribbean, and currently houses around 143,000 Jamaicans, 101,000 Guyanese, 76,000 Trinidadians and 11,000 Vincentians.

• Brazil has become a new destination for Haitian migrants. In 2013, the number of refugee applications increased by 600 per cent (Marcel and Stochero, 2013). The leading Brazilian presence in the UN mission in Haiti might be a reason (ibid).

• Historically, large economic projects or industry booms, such as the construction of the Panama Canal and the growing tourist or petrol industries in certain islands, have attracted Caribbean migrants overseas. It is expected that such future developments will continue to have similar pull-effects, especially impacting the smaller islands of the region (Thomas-Hope 2015).

• Although a number of Caribbean nations are evidently affected by epidemic amounts of violence – the Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago all have murder rates of between 25 and 42/100,000 people (UNODC 2014) – its relation to migration has not been sufficiently investigated. Violence might play a significant part as a push factor.

• There is also a growing presence of extra-regional immigrants, mostly Asian and African, into the region, both regular and irregular. Approximately 200,000 Chinese nationals are smuggled into the region every year, accompanying the increasing economic relationships between CARICOM and China (ACP Observatory on Migration, 2014, p.15). Some extra-regional migrants intend to use the Caribbean as a transit region, while others intend to stay. There is a lack of in-depth studies on the topic.

• Return migration of retirees to the Caribbean is a trend that has gained force in recent years, with the return of a large number of migrants who left in the 1960s (CEPAL, 2012). Some Caribbean emigrants also return to the Caribbean for private education for their children, or are second-generation migrants. However, migrants from Cuba and Haiti tend to become long-term stay or permanent migrants, not opting for return.

• Environmental vulnerability, related to the depletion of local natural resources, extreme weather events, and global climate change, will play an ever increasing role in internal displacement and international migration in the Caribbean.

• Although unskilled labour migration still exceeds skilled migration, the proportion of skilled labour migration is increasing. There is a higher intensity of qualified migration in the Caribbean than in Latin America (IOM, 2012).

• There are three major irregular migration movements in the Caribbean:

»» transit region for South Americans, and to an ever increasing extent Africans and Asians;

»» intraregional irregular migration toward richer countries; and

»» irregular migration from the Caribbean to the United States.

➣➣It is suspected that the total size of irregular migration is exceeding the size of regular migration flows.

• There is great concern for the trafficking of especially minors and young women to islands with a large tourism industry (Thomas-Hope, 2005). This irregular migration flow is expected to continue for as long as anti-trafficking laws are not sufficiently implemented and enforced, and for as long as conditions in countries of origin do not improve.

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Migration in the Caribbean: An opportunity to boost development

Around 3.7 million Venezuelans have left their homes in recent years amid a complex political and economic landscape, resulting in the largest number of refugees and migrants in the region during the past decade. About 2.7 million are currently residing in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Although international attention has been largely focused in borderline countries, the islands of the Caribbean are receiving a significant number of this influx. Many arrive after facing highly dangerous routes by land as well as by sea, this migratory dynamic increases the degree of vulnerability to exploitation, human trafficking and abuse.

As the outflow remains high, the Caribbean has an opportunity to benefit significantly from the integration of this population in an adequately and regulated manner by the adoption of policies at all levels that promote the access to social services, education, labour markets and cultural integration.

“Migrants are productive members of society, generally. There are a lot of migrant success stories. Migrants contribute to society. So, we will try to strengthen the capacity of host communities and integrate migrants and support the government,” said Robert Natiello, IOM’s Regional Coordination Officer for the Caribbean.

According to Peru’s National Superintendence for Migrations, 90% of Venezuelan migrants have technical or professional studies, which contributes positively to the sectors.

The integration of this population can bring economic strength as well as increase contributions to social security payments and other public services to the host country. They can reactivate economies in several ways: by bringing innovation, ideas and investment as well as by bringing new, diverse skills and experience.

Several initiatives have already been undertaken in the Caribbean by partners and host governments to improve integration:

• Facilitating access to medical services , including specialized services to support cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and victims of trafficking, and providing psychosocial support and counselling service.
• Advocating for accessible work permits to Venezuelans to promote economic self-sufficiency and to reduce exploitation.
• Engaging in consultations with relevant authorities on the inclusion of Venezuelans in existing public livelihood programs and enabling access to public services.
• Offering learning spaces to primary- and secondary-age migrant and refugee children.
• Sensitization activities on international refugee protection for workers in public sectors.

As events continue to develop, it is key to remember that refugees and migrants are rights holders, and their economic and social integration represents a potential boost at national and regional levels alike. Although change can be daunting, history has proven that people and countries can find strength in diversity.

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Migration in the Caribbean

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Introduction The magnitude of Caribbean migration has had a tremendous impact on many Caribbean island states (Segal, 1987). Large-scale migration from the region has traditionally been theorized from an economic or socio-political perspective (McElory & Klaus de Alburquerque, 1990; Nurse, 2004; Thomas-Hope et al. 2009), which cites limited employment opportunities, economic hardships and political struggles as the main motivating factors for migration. Research has largely focused on understanding the effect that this out migration has had on Caribbean economies through issues such as brain drain and remittances. In terms of migration's social impact on Caribbean families and communities, traditionally it has been theorized as having a destabilizing effect. The first major wave of out migration from the region in the immediate post slavery period included men who went to work on banana/sugar estates or the Panama Canal and Railways and left behind their families. Women then beg...

Caribbean migration includes a wide variety of movements which can beclassified on the basis of the stated purpose for the movement, whetherwork, education, or as an accompanying person; or length of stay at thedestination, whether permanent or temporary.

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Caribbean Immigrants in the United States

Marchers at Dominican Day Parade in New York City. (Photo: iStock.com/Ryan Rahman)

Approximately 4.5 million Caribbean immigrants resided in the United States in 2019, representing 10 percent of the nation’s 44.9 million total foreign-born population. Close to 90 percent of immigrants in the United States from the 13 Caribbean countries and 17 dependent territories come from one of four countries: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Haiti.

The Caribbean is the most common region of birth for the 4.5 million Black immigrants in the United States, accounting for 46 percent of the total. Jamaica (16 percent) and Haiti (15 percent) are the two largest origin countries for Black immigrants.

There have been distinct push and pull factors for nationals of the Caribbean, given that the United States previously exercised direct political control over most Caribbean nations, with the notable exception of Jamaica.

Voluntary, large-scale migration from the Caribbean to the United States began in the first half of the 20 th century, following the end of the Spanish-American War, when a defeated Spain renounced its claims to Cuba and, among other acts, ceded Puerto Rico to the United States. In the early 1900s, U.S. firms employed Caribbean workers to help build the Panama Canal, and many of these migrants later settled in New York. A high demand for labor among U.S. fruit harvesting industries drew additional labor migrants, particularly to Florida. After World War II, U.S. companies heavily recruited thousands of English-speaking “W2” contract workers from the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados to fill critical jobs in health care and agriculture. Around the same time, political instability in Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic fueled emigration from the region. Following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, an estimated 1.4 million people fled to the United States. Whereas the first major migration of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean nations was comprised mostly of the members of the elite and skilled professionals, the subsequent flows consisted chiefly of their family members and working-class individuals.

In the past few decades, natural disasters and deteriorating political and economic conditions have caused significant devastation and displacement, driving more migrants, from Cuba and Haiti in particular, to seek routes to the United States by land, sea, and air. While the Caribbean immigrant population tripled in size between 1980 and 2010, its growth rate had declined by 2019 (see Figure 1).  

Figure 1. Caribbean Immigrants in the United States, 1980-2019

Sources:  Data from U.S. Census Bureau 2010 and 2019 American Community Surveys (ACS), and Campbell J. Gibson and Kay Jung, "Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-born Population of the United States: 1850-2000" (Working Paper No. 81, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, February 2006),  available online .

Depending on the origin country and period of arrival, immigrants from the Caribbean have varying skill levels, racial composition, language background, and motivations for migration.

Table 1. Caribbean Immigrants in the United States by Country and Region of Origin, 2019

Source: Migration Policy Institute (MPI) tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2019 ACS.

Click here for an interactive chart showing changes in the number of immigrants from the Caribbean in the United States over time. Select individual Caribbean countries from the dropdown menu.

U.S. Policy Differences for Cubans and Haitians

Cubans and Haitians have received particular designations under U.S. immigration law, with Cubans uniquely preferenced.

The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act provided Cubans admitted or paroled into the United States a direct pathway to legal permanent residence after just one year—the only fast-track designation of its type for a particular national origin. The 1994 and 1995 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords further set the foundation for what became known as the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, enabling Cubans who reached U.S. land to apply for legal status, with or without a valid visa. (Cubans intercepted at sea are returned to the island.) The 1966 law and the wet foot, dry foot policy resulted in large increases in the U.S. Cuban population. In working to improve diplomatic relations with Cuba, the Obama administration ended the policy in early 2017. Cuban migrants arriving at a U.S. land border without prior authorization have since been subject to deportation on par with other foreign nationals.

In May 2022, the State Department announced that it would reinstate the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program, which allows eligible U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents (also known as green-card holders) to apply for parole for relatives in Cuba. Once granted parole, a temporary status, these family members may enter the United States and apply for work authorization, while waiting for their green cards to be approved.

Haitians have not had access to similarly favorable treatment, though some Haitians living in the United States without authorization have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS provides protection from removal and work authorization to foreign nationals from certain designated countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions.

Haiti initially was designated for TPS in January 2010, following a devastating earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people. The designation was continuously extended until November 2017, when the Trump administration, citing improved conditions in Haiti, announced the termination of the status. The designation was set to expire in July 2019; legal challenges prevented its termination under the Trump administration. The Biden administration took a different course: On May 22, 2021, it announced a new 18-month designation, citing turbulent conditions in Haiti. The U.S. government estimated that 155,000 Haitians already in the United States may be eligible for TPS under this new designation (which is open to Haitians covered under the previous designation).

Globally, approximately 9.1 million migrants from the Caribbean reside outside their countries of birth, according to mid-2020 estimates by the United Nations Population Division. Of these, about 860,000 (9 percent) lived elsewhere within the region. Outside the region, the United States was by far the top destination for Caribbean immigrants, followed by Canada (415,000), Spain (351,000), and Chile (297,000).

Definitions

The U.S. Census Bureau defines the  foreign born as individuals who had no U.S. citizenship at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.

The terms “ foreign born ” and “ immigrant ” are used interchangeably and refer to those who were born in another country and later migrated to the United States. Data collection constraints do not permit inclusion of those who gained citizenship in a Caribbean country via naturalization and later moved to the United States.

This article uses the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of the Caribbean region , which includes Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, the former country of Guadeloupe (including St. Barthélemy and Saint-Martin), Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, the former country of the Netherlands Antilles (including Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten), St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Since people born in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are native born to the United States, these territories are not included in the list of countries in the Caribbean under the Census Bureau’s definition. People born in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands instead are included in the definition of U.S. born.

Click here  to view an interactive map showing where migrants from the Caribbean and other countries have settled worldwide. Select individual Caribbean countries from the dropdown menu.

On average, most Caribbean immigrants obtain lawful permanent residence in the United States through either family reunification or humanitarian channels. Compared to the total foreign-born population, Caribbean immigrants are more likely to be naturalized citizens and slightly less likely to be Limited English Proficient (LEP), but have lower educational attainment and higher poverty rates.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau (the 2019 American Community Survey [ACS], as well as pooled 2015-19 ACS data), the Department of Homeland Security’s  Yearbook of Immigration Statistics , and World Bank annual remittances data, this Spotlight provides information on the Caribbean immigrant population in the United States, focusing on its size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics.

The article examines the population of immigrants from the entire Caribbean region, as well as those from the five largest origin countries: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Click on the bullet points below for more information:

Distribution by State and Key Cities

English Proficiency

Age, Education, and Employment

• Income and Poverty

Immigration Pathways and Naturalization

• Unauthorized Immigrant Population

Health Coverage

Remittances

Two-third of immigrants from the Caribbean lived in just two states: Florida (41 percent) and New York (25 percent) as of the 2015-19 period. Miami-Dade County in Florida was home to 864,800 Caribbean immigrants, the highest share among all U.S. counties, representing 20 percent of the total Caribbean foreign-born population. Much smaller numbers reside in Broward County in Florida and Bronx, Kings, and Queens counties in New York. Together, these five counties accounted for 43 percent of the total Caribbean immigrant population in the United States.

Figure 2. Top States of Residence for Caribbean Immigrants in the United States, 2015-19

Note:  Pooled 2015-19 ACS data were used to get statistically valid estimates at the state level for smaller-population geographies. Not shown are the populations in Alaska and Hawaii, which are small in size; for details, visit the Migration Policy Institute’s (MPI) Migration Data Hub for an interactive map showing geographic distribution of immigrants by state and county,  available online . Source:  MPI tabulation of data from U.S. Census Bureau pooled 2015-19 ACS.

Click here  for an interactive map that shows the geographic distribution of immigrants by state and county. Select the Caribbean region or an individual Caribbean nation from the dropdown menu to see which states and counties have the highest distributions of immigrants from the region/country.

The greater New York and Miami metropolitan areas were the U.S. cities with the most Caribbean immigrants. Approximately 60 percent of all Caribbean immigrants in the United States lived in these two metro areas.

Figure 3. Top Metropolitan Areas of Residence for Caribbean Immigrants in the United States, 2015-19

Note:  Pooled 2015-19 ACS data were used to get statistically valid estimates at the metropolitan statistical area level for smaller-population geographies. Not shown are the populations in Alaska and Hawaii, which are small in size. Source:  MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau pooled 2015-19 ACS.

Click here  for an interactive map that highlights the metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of immigrants from the Caribbean and other countries.

Table 2. Top Concentrations of Caribbean Immigrants by Metropolitan Area, 2015-19

Source:  MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau pooled 2015-19 ACS.

Caribbean immigrants are slightly more likely to be proficient in English than the overall foreign-born population. In 2019, approximately 43 percent of Caribbean immigrants (ages 5 and over) reported limited English proficiency, versus 46 percent of all immigrants. Very few immigrants from English-speaking Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago (1 percent each) were LEP, while immigrants from the Dominican Republic (63 percent) and Cuba (62 percent) had much higher LEP shares than all U.S immigrants.

Note:  Limited English proficiency refers to those who indicated on the ACS questionnaire that they spoke English less than “very well.”

Caribbean immigrants are generally older than both the foreign- and U.S.-born populations. The median age of immigrants from the Caribbean was approximately 50 in 2019, compared to 46 for the overall foreign-born population and 37 for the U.S.-born. Seventy-three percent of Caribbean immigrants were of working age (18 to 64 years old), compared to 78 percent and 59 percent for the overall immigrant and native-born populations, respectively. Most immigrants from the Dominican Republic (77 percent), Haiti (76 percent), and Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica (75 percent each) were of working age, while more than one-quarter (28 percent) of Cuban immigrants were seniors (ages 65 and older).

Figure 4. Age Distribution of the U.S. Population by Origin, 2019

Note:  Percentages may not add up to 100 as they are rounded to the nearest whole number. Source:  MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 ACS.

Caribbean immigrant adults (ages 25 and older) are more likely to have graduated from high school but less likely to have graduated from college than the overall foreign-born population. About 22 percent of Caribbean immigrants had not finished high school, compared to 26 percent of all immigrants and 8 percent of U.S.-born adults as of 2019. Approximately 22 percent of Caribbean adults had a bachelor’s degree or higher, versus 33 percent of foreign- and native-born adults. More than one-quarter of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago (28 percent) and Jamaica (27 percent) held at least a bachelor’s degree, while nearly one-third (31 percent) from the Dominican Republic did not graduate from high school.

In the 2020-21 school year, about 11,200 Caribbean students were enrolled in U.S. higher educational institutions, representing approximately 1 percent of the 914,100 international students in the United States. Jamaica (2,700), the Bahamas (2,300), and the Dominican Republic (1,200) were the region’s top origin countries for international students.

Caribbean immigrants participate in the U.S. civilian labor force at the same rate as the overall foreign-born population and at a higher rate than the U.S. born. About 67 percent each of the Caribbean and overall immigrant populations ages 16 and over were in the civilian labor force in 2019, compared to 62 percent of the U.S. born.

Caribbean immigrants are more likely to be employed in service occupations and production, transportation, and material moving occupations than the other two groups of workers. Immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago were most likely to be employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations (41 percent), while those from Haiti (38 percent) and the Dominican Republic (32 percent) were the mostly like to be in service occupations.

Figure 5. Employed Workers in the U.S. Civilian Labor Force (ages 16 and older) by Occupation and Origin, 2019

Source : MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2019 ACS.

Income and Poverty On average, household incomes of Caribbean immigrants were lower in 2019, with a median income of $52,000, compared to $64,000 for all immigrant households and $66,000 for U.S.-born households. The highest median household incomes among the largest Caribbean populations in the United States were those headed by immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago ($67,000) and Jamaica ($62,000), while those from the Dominican Republic had the lowest ($44,000).

Approximately 15 percent of Caribbean immigrants were living in poverty (defined as earning less than $25,750 for a family of four in 2019), compared to 14 percent of the entire immigrant population and 12 percent of the U.S. born. For major origin groups, poverty rates were highest among immigrants from the Dominican Republic (19 percent) and Cuba (16 percent) and lowest among those from Jamaica (10 percent).

Caribbean immigrants were more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens than the overall foreign-born population (63 percent and 52 percent, respectively). Immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago (74 percent) and Jamaica (69 percent) had the highest naturalization share among the major national-origin groups from the region, while those from the Dominican Republic had the lowest rate (57 percent), though still higher than for the overall immigrant population.

Caribbean immigrants, on average, have similar patterns of arrival as the overall foreign-born population. Seventy-one percent of those from Trinidad and Tobago entered before 2000, compared to 53 percent of the total Caribbean immigrant population. About 28-29 percent of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Cuba are recent arrivals (2010 or later).  

Figure 6. Caribbean Immigrants and All Immigrants in the United States by Period of Arrival, 2019

Note : Numbers may not add up to 100 as they are rounded to the nearest whole number. Source : MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2019 ACS.

About 10 percent (72,900) of the 707,400 immigrants who became lawful permanent residents (LPRs) in 2020 were from the Caribbean; about 80 percent of them received a green card as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through family-sponsored preferences.

New green-card holders from the Caribbean were more likely to have been admitted as refugees or asylees (17 percent) than the overall LPR population (9 percent), due to the large number of Cuban nationals who have adjusted their status under the fast-track process set by the Cuban Adjustment Act. Approximately 74 percent of Cubans who got a green card in 2020 entered the United States initially via a humanitarian channel. Meanwhile, Caribbean immigrants were much less likely to become green-card holders via employment pathways (2 percent) than all new LPRs (21 percent).

Figure 7. Immigration Pathways of Caribbean Immigrants and All Lawful Permanent Residents in the United States, FY 2020

Notes:   Immediate relatives  of U.S. citizens include spouses, minor children, and parents of U.S. citizens.  Family-sponsored  preferences include adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens as well as spouses and children of green-card holders. The Diversity Visa lottery was established by the Immigration Act of 1990 to allow entry to immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The law states that 55,000 diversity visas in total are to be made available each fiscal year. Individuals born in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and several United Kingdom dependent territories in the Caribbean (Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands) were not eligible for the 2023 lottery. Source:  MPI tabulation of data from Department of Homeland Security (DHS),  2020 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics  (Washington, DC: DHS Office of Immigration Statistics, 2022),  available online .

Unauthorized Immigrant Population 

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates as that as of 2019, approximately 327,000 (3 percent) of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States were from the Caribbean. About half of the unauthorized Caribbean immigrant population was from the Dominican Republic (164,000), followed by Haiti (70,000), Jamaica (55,000), and Trinidad and Tobago (14,000).

Click here  for an interactive data tool showing top states and counties of residence for unauthorized immigrants in the United States by country or region of origin.

Click here for demographic profiles of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States at national, state, and top county levels.

According to the most recent data available from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), approximately 6,210 unauthorized immigrants from the Caribbean were active participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary deportation relief and work authorization, as of December 2021. These individuals represented about 1 percent of all 611,500 DACA participants. Individuals from Jamaica (2,020 participants), the Dominican Republic (1,780), and Trinidad and Tobago (1,340) were the largest Caribbean groups participating in DACA.

Click here  for two interactive data tools showing MPI estimates of DACA-eligible unauthorized immigrant populations for top states and counties and by national origin.

Caribbean immigrants are more likely to be insured than the overall foreign-born population. Among the largest Caribbean immigrant-origin groups, those from Trinidad and Tobago had the lowest rate of being uninsured (10 percent) in 2019, while those from Cuba and Haiti had the highest rates (18 percent and 17 percent, respectively).

Figure 8. Health Insurance Coverage for Caribbean Immigrants, All Immigrants, and the U.S. Born, 2019

Note:  The sum of shares by type of insurance is likely to be greater than 100 because people may have more than one type of insurance. Source:  MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 ACS.

The Caribbean diaspora in the United States is comprised of more than 8.5 million individuals who were either born in the Caribbean or reported ancestry of a given country in the Caribbean, according to tabulations from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 ACS.

Remittances sent to the Caribbean have grown steadily since 1990 despite a small decline after the 2007-09 Great Recession. In 2020, remittances originating around the world and sent via formal channels to the region equaled $15.1 billion, up 7 percent from $14.1 billion in 2019.

The Dominican Republic received more than half (55 percent) of all remittances sent to the Caribbean, followed by Haiti (21 percent) and Jamaica (20 percent). (Note: no remittances data are available for Cuba and the Bahamas). The level of dependence on remittances varies significantly by country: Remittances accounted for 22 percent of Haiti’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 21 percent of Jamaica’s, 11 percent of the Dominican Republic’s, and about 1 percent each in Aruba and Trinidad and Tobago.

Figure 9. Annual Remittance Flows to Caribbean Countries, 1980-2020

Note : The 2020 figure represents World Bank estimates.  No data are available for Anguilla, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, the former country of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, and Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. Source: World Bank Prospects Group, “Annual Remittances Data,” May 2021 update,  available online .

Visit the Migration Data Hub’s collection of interactive remittances tools , which track remittances by inflow and outflow, between countries, and over time.

Acosta, Yesenia and Patricia de la Cruz. 2011. The Foreign Born from Latin America and the Caribbean: 2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.  Available online .

Chishti, Muzaffar and Jessica Bolter. 2022. Rise in Maritime Migration to the United States Is a Reminder of Chapters Past. Migration Information Source , May 25, 2022. Available online . 

Duany, Jorge. 2017. Cuban Migration: A Postrevolution Exodus Ebbs and Flows.  Migration Information Source , July 6, 2017.  Available online .

Foner, Nancy. 2001. West Indian Migration to New York: An Overview in Islands in the City: West Indian Migration to New York, 1-22. University of California Press. Available online .

Francis, Tam’ra-Kay. 2022. West Indian Immigration to the United States (1900 - ). BlackPast, January 27, 2022.  Available online .

Gibson, Campbell J. and Emily Lennon. 2006. Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850 to 1990. Working Paper No. 81, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, February 2006.  Available online .

Institute of International Education (IIE). 2021.  International Students: All Places of Origin . Washington, DC: IIE.  Available online .

International Organization for Migration (IOM) Global Migration Data Analysis Center (GMDAC) Migration Data Portal. 2021. Migration Data in the Caribbean. Updated August 27, 2021.  Available online .

Tamir, Christine and Monica Anderson. 2022.  One-In-Ten Black People in the U.S. Are Immigrants.  Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.  Available online . 

Thomas, Kevin J. A. 2012.  A Demographic Profile of Black Caribbean Immigrants in the United States . Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.  Available online .

United Nations Population Division. 2020. International Migrant Stock 2020: Destination and Origin.  Available online .

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 2019 American Community Survey. Accessed from Steven Ruggles, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Josiah Grover, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 11.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.  Available online .

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 2022. Count of Active DACA Recipients by Month of Current DACA Expiration as of December 31, 2021. Available online .

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Immigration Statistics. 2022.  2020 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics . Washington, DC: DHS Office of Immigration Statistics.  Available online .

Wilson, Jill. 2022. Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure . Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Updated April 19, 2022.  Available online.

World Bank Prospects Group. 2021. Annual Remittances Data, May 2021 update.  Available online .

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ERIC ED294967: Caribbean Life in New York City: Sociocultural Dimensions.

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