Human beings have always travelled and established settlements in different parts of the globe, even before the establishment of federated democracies. Migration has always been a way for people for centuries to seek new ways of life. We might be very clear in terms of identity right now as we interact with one another and describe and identify ourselves, but we might never fully discover where our genetically related ancestors came from.

For instance, when the Europeans started colonizing several parts of the world, and centuries later, when the colonized countries became free from their colonizers, they had people who carried inherited identities via their ancestors genetically. An example of this could be the United States of America where the average White American is carrying multiple European identities genetically such as French, Danish, Irish, English, Swedish etc. and similarly to this we have the concept of “gotra” in India, where an individual’s lineage could be traced back to his ancestors using his or her “gotra”. But after India was colonized, the people and their identities started oscillating between the colonizer and the colonized. Where the natives gained independence and reclaimed their country, but they were dependent on the system left by the British in terms of education, bureaucracy, power, and technology.

Migration and meeting new people from various backgrounds may seem like a normal phenomenon and nothing out of the blue or extraordinary, but in some instances, both in the historical and modern settings have led to some issues, which conceal some socio-economic indicators that might need some unraveling.

Migration could be classified into six types: internal, international, climate, circular, return, and mass. Internal migration could be defined as when citizens of a country move from one region or state of the country to another. International migration could be classified into two categories: external migration and immigration, which could be classified as moving to another country. Climate migration could be defined as when, due to a region's geographical disadvantages such as floods, droughts, or extreme heatwaves, citizens move to a region with more reasonable environmental conditions. Circular migration could also be compared to seasonal migration, where the citizens of a region move from their home to the host region for work but don’t immigrate or settle there permanently, but instead return to their home regions after completing their work. Return migration could be defined as returning to your home country, and finally, mass migration is classified as a mass movement of people from one region to another on a monthly and yearly basis for work, education, living conditions, and healthcare.

While these might seem like inclusive techniques and normal human circumstances to survive, there have been instances where due to the negligence of law and order in these situations that tensions have risen been two different sets of people. For example, in the United States of America, when the American citizens witnessed a mass wave of Irish people moving from Ireland in the 19th century to escape sickness, they received a less than pleasant welcome in the host land. Similarly, when the slaves were freed in the United States of America, they were sent back to Africa, to their homeland to start life afresh, but since their ancestors had lived there for centuries and absorbed the American culture and lifestyle, they were unable to identify themselves with the native populations of Africa. So, the freed slaves chose to establish their own country, modelled after the USA, called Liberia.

Whenever we study this various phenomena of migration, we must take into consideration various aspects pertaining to legal, social, economic, cultural, geographical, and environmental. When we talk about scenarios pertaining to legal consequences of migration, we must talk about identification and living conditions of migrants in the host country. For example, migrants moving to another region must have proper identification for their verification, as well as be given proper, reasonable conditions to live in by the companies that are hiring them as employees to work for them. It also becomes necessary in the cases of international migration to establish proper documentation and visa processes to establish the prospective candidates into various migration categories, such as those migrating for work, those who are non-resident citizens of their homeland, and those who are coming for diplomatic and business purposes. Countries must also seek legal guidance as to how and under what circumstances a citizen from another nation can have the right to seek the citizenship of their nation.

Secondly, it also becomes imperative that the geographical and environmental circumstances must be highlighted to curb the process of mass migration, as it might lead to several social, cultural, and economic tensions. For instance, if we pick two island regions, Wales and Hong Kong. It might be reasonable for the Welsh government to hire employees from other nations to help build their economy because of their smaller population, and because it will be easier for the immigrants to acclimate themselves to an environment that is less densely populated. Whereas, a region like Hong Kong, which is one of the highly populated dense regions in the world, and on top of being an island region it also comprises the most number of skyscrapers in the world because of which the housing market will shoot up to inordinate expensive prices for accommodations and migrating to such a region will not be so fundamentally survival conducive. This is also true for some of the densely populated island regions of the world, where, due to the population density, slums get built as the people can’t afford the housing prices, and this subsequently leads to the development of a breeding ground for crime, corruption, and unlawful activities. Secondly, it also becomes important that the synthesis of the native population and the immigrant culture must be taken into account. The first preference in terms of education and the curriculum must be given to the natives of the land, and the immigrants must be integrated in such a manner that the fluid transmission of respect for each other’s roots and education takes place. This could also be the case in the workplace, as there has to be a ratio of natives and immigrants at an equal measure so that none of them feels left out, and any act of collision could be avoided.

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