[pjc50]

The demographic and internal-migratory questions remind me of the EU and the problems faced by e.g. Greece. I wonder if it will result in a campaign against internal migration. Is freedom of movement within the United States explicitly part of the Constitution?

[SllX]

It is governed by the Privileges and Immunities clause under the authority of the States (not Congress) and has been judicially recognized as a fundamental right tied to that same clause since at least 1823.

It was considered so fundamental during the drafting process that there wasn’t a need to enumerate “freedom of movement” specifically.

[mywittyname]

> Is freedom of movement within the United States explicitly part of the Constitution?

Interesting question. Not explicitly, but the Federal Government reserves the right to regulate "interstate commerce," which is a power granted specifically to prevent hard state borders, among other things.

States/municipalities do have mechanisms to screw with people from other states via tax and transportation manipulation. But, for the most part, I've never heard of any animosity towards local residents from other states, and I live and work in a city whose metro-area spans three states. Immigrants from other regions are different beast though.

[hx87]

NIMBYism is pretty much a de facto campaign against internal migration. It's not much of an issue in the fastest growing states, but certain states with hot economies but stagnant or declining populations, like Massachusetts or California, are affected by it.

[cossatot]

Internal migration is much more common within the US than within the EU, and societal norms are much more accepting of intra-US relocation.

Based on the data I can gather from a brief search, it looks like in 2017, 58% of Americans live in the state of their birth [1]. Because many people move states and then move back (for college or a temporary job or something) then it's reasonable to think that perhaps 50% of Americans move states at least once in their lives.

In 2016, 93% of EU residents were living in the nation if their birth; 4% were from outside the EU and 3% from another EU member nation [2]. (In the US, 14.4% of the population are immigrants, and this is ~20% of the total global immigrant population [3].)

Furthermore (and in the absence of any supporting data), I think that the assimilation process is for the most part easier for Americans moving between states, especially those who are at least second generation American. While there are definitely strong cultural differences between US regions, we generally all regard each other as American (although this is surely different for those from American territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam or American Samoa). Relocation may also be quite challenging for minorities, especially those moving to whiter states. But for the typical white American moving states, it is probably easier to relocate than for an Italian moving from Calabria or Napoli to Lombardia.

I've lived in 8 states and I think that some half-hearted jokes about dating cousins or eating possum are about the most trouble I've gotten by hailing from the Ozarks. In my experience there are also larger biases against neighboring states (sports rivals) than far-away states. Freud's narcissism of small difference and all that.

That being said, since at least the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, there has been some local to regional resistance to internal migration. Interestingly, today much of the resistance is put forth by residents of less economically developed regions against those from more well-off places moving in, pricing the locals out, and changing the culture. These changes are a sort of Californication, the gentrification of mountain towns by richer and more liberal whites, rather than poorer immigrants bringing down property values or taking manual labor jobs. While there is little by way of legislation against this, there is talk of some [3].

[1]: https://www.citylab.com/life/2019/03/mobile-stuck-us-geograp...

[2]: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...

[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_Stat...

[4]: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-10/go-back-...

[blacksmith_tb]

People willing to relocate for work benefits employers, though this tends isolate individuals from their extended families (which may seem like a plus, until you, say, have kids but no grandparents to shuttle them around; or unwell elders without anyone left to care for them).

[BurningFrog]

San Francisco certainly don't want any outsiders moving in!

[jdhn]

I believe so. The campaign against internal migration is happening in the sense that people in western states that aren't California are pissed at Californians for moving to those states and driving up housing prices.