Argentina is an attractive destiny for many immigrants.

Legal and undocumented immigration in recent times

Besides substantial immigration from neighboring countries, during the middle and late 1990s Argentina received significant numbers of people from Asian countries such as Korea (both North and South), China and Vietnam, which joined the previously existing Sino-Japanese communities in Buenos Aires. Despite the economic and financial crisis Argentina suffered at the turn of the millennium, people from all over the world continued arriving to the country, because of their immigration-friendly policy and other reasons.

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 undocumented immigrants. The same source gives a plausible total figure of 750,000 undocumented immigrants 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 Buenos Aires sweatshop, which revealed the widespread utilization of undocumented Bolivian immigrants as cheap labor force in inhumane conditions, under a regime of virtual debt slavery.

Nearly a million permanent residency applications were filed from 2000 to 2008, and their country of origin was as follows:

Place	Country	Applications
1	Paraguay	319,492
2	Bolivia	240,467
3	Peru	138,355
4	China	34,746
5	United States	24,626
6	Chile	23,231
7	Uruguay	22,733
8	Brazil	19,547
9	Colombia	16,539
10	South Korea	10,279
11	Ukraine	10,072
12	Spain	7,434
13	Germany	7,164
14	Mexico	6,791
15	Ecuador	6,564
16	Cuba	6,093
17	France	5,890
18	Venezuela	4,618
19	Italy	4,392
20	Russia	4,249
	Other countries	16,855
TOTAL		953,368

African Immigrants turn to Argentina for opportunity
Escaping war, poverty or political persecution in their homelands, it's estimated that immigrants from over 29
African countries are now living in Argentina.

"An Argentine Mosaic: Destino Patagonia": 

Since 1907, when petroleum was discovered near the small port of Comodoro Rivadavia, on the sparsely populated coast of central Patagonia, company towns were developed by the Argentine state and foreign companies to attract a steady supply of workers. The oil fields and the economic activities that emerged around them (services, commerce, agriculture) drew a diverse labor force from southern and Eastern Europe, mostly from Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, Germany and the former Yugoslavia. These migrants joined a small population of earlier European merchants and South African ranchers already settled in the area. These developments and the growth of the Comodoro region were linked to larger processes of labor mobility, urbanization, economic growth, and community formation that took place in the larger transatlantic space during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and contributed greatly to shaping modern Argentina. Because of its unprecedented scale, transatlantic migrations have figured prominently in the narrative of national formation in Argentina and the regional settlement of Patagonia and Comodoro Rivadavia. A parallel movement, however, of workers from neighboring countries and internal migrants from the northwest of Argentina contributed significantly to the development of the region.

The multiethnic community of Comodoro Rivadavia offers a unique opportunity to analyze the ways in which groups of diverse origins relate to the traditional historical memory of Argentina as a country of immigrants. Given the diversity of migration flows, the identity of the Patagonian-Comodorense is multifaceted. Various groups developed different and unique versions of their individual and collective histories in relation to their participation in the symbolic and material construction of their community. The people of Comodoro Rivadavia have created collective histories that emphasize their role as pioneers, their difficulties in facing severe climatic conditions, and their isolation. This work seeks, inside this general narrative, to reveal the existence of multiple versions of this historic experience which is representative of the immigrant experience of Argentina as a whole. In analyzing the existence of parallel and intersecting histories, and comparing and contrasting the visions of migrants from different origins and time periods, this work goes beyond the limits and approaches of the traditional historiography of Argentina. Utilizing oral history interviews and archival materials, it explores the construction of multiple identities as one of the multiple versions of this complex historic process.

Away From Home:

Due to strict migration policies in Europe, Latin America is the new final destination for African citizens. Many arrive as gadabouts in ships even without choosing their destination. These people basically seek for new horizons or escape from a bad economic situation

Buenos Aires is one of the cities that becomes home for African migrants, as it once was the new home for Italians, Spanish, French, etc. They come to complete the broad ethnic variety which is the aim of Argentineans´ roots.

Natives from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Zambia and mainly from Senegal have been arriving during the past three years. Many of them have no documentation but are determined to work, mainly selling jewels on streets as they used to do in their homeland.

During the 90's they came attracted by the financial welfare in Argentina but during 2001 crisis many left and just a few stayed on. Now, the African migration flow has re started.

As the ACNUR cut down the financial assistance for those migrants, other migrants in the country support and help new members of the community. The African citizens keep their habits and religion, yet cope with local costums quickly.