International migration is one of the defining features of the history of Latin America and the Caribbean (lac). For most of its history the Americas have been a point of arrival and a net importer of labor. In the last five decades or so the pattern has been altered with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean becoming net exporter of labor, largely to the core economies in the Western hemisphere, the us and Canada. There have also been significant movements of people from Latin America and the Caribbean to Europe, principally from former colonies and non-independent territories.