Changes In The Migration Of The Dominican Republic

Political repression along with deteriorating economic conditions provided strong incentives for Dominicans Central Americans to migrate to the U.S. The causes of political instability and economic changes are specific to each country; but overall, economic and political factors have had the most influence on the significant increase in the migration of these two Latino sub-groups to the United States.

The weakening economy and political instability in the Dominican Republic were two of the main factors that led Dominicans to migrate and become a part of the U.S. Migration began during the Trujillo era, when the economy was changing from being based mainly on agriculture to low-level industrialization. Since the majority of the enterprises
After the assassination of Trujillo in 1961, the number of Dominican immigrants increased during the beginning of the 1960s to an annual average of about 10,000 from 1,000 in the 1950s (Levitt 234). In 1966, Joaquin Balaguer was elected president. During his rule, Joaquin increased the amount of public sector jobs by initiating public projects like highway and housing construction in order to boost economic activity. Although the gross domestic product rose at first at an average of 11% annually during the time period between 1969 and 1974, efficiency declined in the 1970s and inflation increased whereas wages remained unchanged. Joaquin implemented policies that favored urban workers, while putting rural workers at a disadvantage. Consequently, people moved to the cities and the rural population of the entire population declined from 65% to 45%. However, not enough jobs were available for the amount of people that migrated to Santo Domingo, leading to an unemployment rate of about 20% in 1973. (Levitt
The first immigrants to move to the U.S. were mostly political refugees. While economic activity declined and critics of the regime became more active, the U.S. feared the possibility of communism taking over. Following the overthrow of the Bosch government, there was a rise in anti-government opponents. Dominicans gained political rights in the U.S. as the U.S government wanted to prevent further political instability by increasing the number of visas issued to Dominicans, allowing more immigrants to enter the country (Levitt 234).

However, Dominican immigrants faced many difficulties when they entered the U.S. One of the most important factors that hindered their ability to gain economic rights includes the language barrier. Dominicans migrated to the United States during a time when the economy was changing. Few well-paying jobs were available for non-speaking Dominicans, most of whom lacked the degree of education that was demanded by the labor market. Less than 10% of Dominicans have graduated college, and 42% received a high school degree whereas 48% did not (Levitt