34th Annual Student Research Conference
The Motivations Behind Immigration to Kirksville
Kaitlin Lewis
Dr. Brian Ott and Dr. Anton Daughters, Faculty Mentors
Immigration has been a heavily debated topic in political discussions in the United States for decades, affecting even the most rural places throughout the country. Within the last decade, hundreds of immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, and Central America have immigrated to Northeast Missouri. This research seeks to answer the questions: What motivated these individuals to immigrate to Kirksivlle? How does local media coverage portray this spike in immigration? Through a content analysis of news articles published between 2016 and 2019 covering the increase in migration to the area, this research ultimately concludes that a large majority of sources do not appropriately differentiate between “push” and “pull” motivations behind immigration. In addition, it is evident through this research that language barriers continue to challenge the immigrant community and that the new residents should be included in local politics and decisions to a greater extent.
Keywords: immigration , push and pull motivations, language barriers, acculturation, Diversity Visa
Topic(s):Anthropology
Presentation Type: Asynchronous Virtual Oral Presentation
Session: 2-2
Location: https://flipgrid.com/8ce38d74
Time: 0:00