Filipino
Migration to US
A long
history of migration is deeply ingrained in the social, economic, and cultural
climate of the Philippines. As one of the countries with the largest
origin of migrants, migration has greatly affected the Philippines. The history
of Philippine migration helps us understand how it has shaped the social
landscape of the Philippines today. This explains the motivation of Filipinos
to go overseas, despite the challenges they face.
Migration in
the Philippines is characterized in four significant waves.
First
wave
The first
ever recorded Philippine migration occurred in the 1417 when Sultan
PadukaBatara initiated a mission to improve trade relations with the Chinese
emperor, consisting of Sulu Royalties and their families. Under the Spanish
rule in the 18thcentury, Manila maintained trade relations with Acapulco which
started the migration of Filipino seafarers to Mexico. Following this, the Filipino
seafarers started settlements in Louisiana while other Filipino migrants were
working as fruit pickers in California. At the end of the 19th century
Filipino students, professionals and exiles migrated to Europe.
Second
wave
From the
beginning of the 20th century until the 1940s, large scale systematic
migration of Filipinos to the US occurred. During this American colonial
period, the first Filipino migrants arrived in 1906 to work in sugar
plantations in Hawaii. Shortly after, more Filipino migrants arrived in Hawaii
to work as fruit pickers. Between 1906 and 1934, more than 100,000 Filipinos
arrived in the US, most of whom in Hawaii. Other Filipino migrants were working
in Alaska’s fish canneries. As a colony of the US, Filipinos were considered US
nationals.
Third
wave
Following
the end of the Second World War, the US government instituted a national origin
quota system, limiting immigration for Filipinos who joined the US Navy. The
national origin quota led to a significant decline in Filipino migration to the
US. The immigration restrictions of the US resulted to more Filipinos starting
to migrate to Asian countries in the 1950s. Around 250,000 Filipinos were
employed in logging camps in Sabah and Sarawak, serving five year contracts.
Many more Filipinos were employed on American army bases in Vietnam, Thailand
and Guam during the Indochina war. At the start of the 1970s, Filipinos also
migrated to Iran and Iraq to work as engineers and technicians. In the 1960s,
the US and Canada relaxed immigration regulations, allowing family
reunification, which led to a significant increase of Filipino migration to
North America. In the same period, Filipinos started migrated as nurses or domestic
workers to Western Europe.
Fourth
wave
In the 1970s,
former President Ferdinand Marco institutionalized a policy to encourage
emigration to stimulate the economy. While these policies were aimed to be of
temporary nature, labor migration has been steadily increasing since. High
unemployment and poor living standards combined with a government policy of
emigration encouraged thousands of Filipinos to seek employment overseas. In
1972, former President Marcos imposed Martial Law leading to the exile of
political opponents.
The
political, social and economic uncertainty under martial law rule of President
Marcos pushed opponents and middle class Filipinos to leave the country.
Economic development in Asian neighbouring countries, the emergence of the Gulf
region after the oil crisis and the change in immigration policies of
destination countries further stirred migration.
