Immigration in Argentina

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The original inhabitants of Argentina were descendants of Asian peoples that crossed the Bering Land Bridge into North America and then, over thousands of years, reached the southern end of South America.

Immigration in Argentina, from that time on, can be divided in several major stages:

Spanish colonization starting in the 16th century, displacing or forcefully integrating the indigenous inhabitants (see Population history of American indigenous peoples).
European immigration, including Welsh settlement, in the 19th century, focused on colonization and sponsored by the government (sometimes on lands "freed" of the native inhabitants by the Conquest of the Desert in the last quarter of the century).
Mostly urban immigration during the era of rapid growth in the late 19th century (from 1880 onwards) and the first half of the 20th century, before and after World War I and also after the Spanish Civil War.

Contents

1 Support and control of immigration
2 Features of immigration
3 Legacy of immigration
4 Legal and illegal immigration in recent times
5 See also
6 References

Support and control of immigration

Since its unification as a country and before, Argentine rulers intended the country to welcome productive immigration, albeit selectively. Article 25 of the 1853 Constitution reads:

The Federal Government will encourage European immigration, and it will not restrict, limit or burden with any taxes the entrance into Argentine territory of foreigners who come with the goal of working the land, improving the industries and teach the sciences and the arts.

The Preamble of the Constitution, more generously, dictates a number of goals (justice, peace, defense, welfare and liberty) that apply "to all men in the world who wish to dwell on Argentine soil". The Constitution incorporates, along with other influences, the thought of Juan Bautista Alberdi, who expressed his opinion on the matter in succinct terms: "to rule is to populate".

The legal and organizational precedents of today's National Migrations Office (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones) can be found in 1825, when Rivadavia created an Immigration Commission. After the Commission was dissolved, the government of Rosas continued to allow immigration. Urquiza, under whose sponsorship the Constitution was drawn, encouraged the establishment of agricultural colonies in the Littoral (western Mesopotamia and north-eastern Pampas).

The first law dealing with immigration policies was Law 817 of Immigration and Colonization, of 1876. The General Immigration Office was created in 1898, together with an Immigrants' Hotel and an Immigrants' Hospital, in Buenos Aires.

The liberal rulers of the late 19th century saw immigration as the possibility of bringing people from supposedly more civilized, enlightened countries into a sparsely populated land, thus diminishing the influence of aboriginal elements and turning Argentina into a modern society with a dynamic economy. However, immigrants did not only bring their knowledge and skills. In 1902, a Law of Residence (Ley de Residencia) was passed, mandating the expulsion of foreigners who "compromise national security or disturb public order", and in 1910 a Law of Social Defense (Ley de Defensa Social) explicitly named ideologies deemed to have such effects. These laws were a reaction by the ruling elite against imported ideas such as labor unionism, anarchism and other forms of popular organization.

The modern National Migrations Office was created by decree on 1949-02-04 under the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency, in order to deal with the new post-war immigration scenario. New regulations were added to the Office by Law 22439 of 1981 and a decree of 1994.

Features of immigration

The majority of immigrants, since the 19th century, came from Europe, mostly from Spain and Italy, but with a substantial influx of British and Germans. Also notable were Jewish immigrants escaping persecution. Between 1860 and 1930, newcomers from Spain and Italy countries accounted for 80% of the total immigration. [link] The total population of Argentina rose from 4 million in 1895 to 7.9 million in 1914, and to 15.8 million in 1947; during this time the country was settled by 1.5 million Italians and 1.4 million Spaniards, as well as Poles, Russians, French (more than 100,000 each), Germans, Portuguese, Ukrainians, Yugoslavians, Czechs, Irish, Dutch, Scandinavians and people from other European and Middle Eastern countries.

Most immigrants arrived through the port of Buenos Aires and stayed in the capital or within Buenos Aires Province, as it still happens today. In 1895 the capital had 52% of non-native population, and the province of Buenos Aires, 31% (some provinces of the littoral, such as Santa Fe, had about 40%, and the Patagonian provinces about 50%). In 1914, before World War I caused many European immigrants to return to their homeland in order to join the respective armies, the overall rate of non-native population reached its peak, almost 30%.

A significant number of immigrants settled in the countryside in the interior of the country, specially the littoral provinces, creating agricultural colonies. These included many Jews, fleeing pogroms in Europe and sponsored by Maurice de Hirsch's Jewish Colonization Association; they were later termed "Jewish gauchos". The first such Jewish colony was Moïseville (now the village of Moisés Ville).

Legacy of immigration

Argentina celebrates Immigrant's Day on 4 September since 1949, by a decree of the Executive Branch. The National Immigrant's Festival is celebrated in Oberá, Misiones, during the first fortnight of September, since 1980. There are other celebrations of ethnic diversity throughout the country, such as the National Meeting and Festival of the Communities in Rosario (typically at the beginning of November). Many cities and towns in Argentina also feature monuments and memorials dedicated to immigration.

Legal and illegal immigration in recent times

According to official data, between 1992 and 2003 an average 13,187 people per year immigrated legally in Argentina. The government calculates that 504,000 people entered the country during the same period, giving about 345,000 illegal immigrants. The same source gives a plausible total figure of 750,000 illegals currently residing in Argentina.

In April 2006 the national government started the Patria Grande plan to regularize the migratory situation of illegal aliens. The plan attempts to ease the bureaucratic process of getting documentation and residence papers, and is aimed at citizens of Mercosur countries and its associated states (Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela). The plan came after a scandal and a wave of indignation caused by fire in a sweatshop Buenos Aires, which revealed the widespread utilization of undocumented Bolivian immigrants as cheap labor force in inhumane conditions, under a regime of virtual debt slavery.

References

In Spanish unless otherwise noted.

() [CasaHistoria] — European immigration to Argentina.
[Immigrant's Day] - on the Ministry of Education website.
[Conformación de la Población Argentina]
[Bajaron de los barcos] ("They came down from the ships") - Figures, timeline and other details of Argentine immigration.
[Patria Grande], National Program of Migratory Documentary Normalization.
La Nación, 17 April 2006. [Más de 10 mil inmigrantes iniciaron trámites de regularización.]