Is there a term for the "social immobility" the Ellis Island immigrants escaped?

Question

Many of the Ellis Island immigrants, especially those leaving eastern and southern Europe and the Ottoman Empire, were escaping religious persecution, economic turmoil, and highly restrictive social/family rules. I'm looking for a term for that latter. "Social immobility" seems the best I can come up with, but it doesn't seem like the closest term.

To be specific, this includes, escaping: (1) arranged marriages (2) family choosing career for youth (3) no more land because its been divided up too much (4) inability to afford own property, (5) lack of voice in family due to gender/age, etc.

Sample sentence: "At the turn of the 19th Century, many emigrated from eastern Europe to escape ______."

Is there a broad term, perhaps used by Sociologists or Anthropologists, describing this push factor?

Answer 1

At the turn of the 19th Century, many emigrated from eastern Europe to escape social stagnation.

social stagnation

The social stagnation described here involves a lack of social mobility, the absence of substantial improvement of social conditions over the course of several decades for lower-income groups, and the persistence of a wide gap between upper- and lower-income groups. James Petra; Politics and Social Forces in Chilean Development (2021)

The Jews who came to America during this period were predominantly from small towns in Central Europe. The offspring of artisans, craftsmen and petty traders, they yearned to leave political injustice and social stagnation behind in... Bet ha-tefutsot; Jews in America, 1654-1880 (1986) (Snippet View)

Obviously, for most black sociologists of that time, discrimination caused the lack of social mobility for blacks. Isolated neighborhoods, segregated schools, and job discrimination continued to be the culprits in the economic and social stagnation within the black community. Wilbur Rich; The Post-Racial Society is Here (2013)

Mobility, too, is a spatial metaphor, linking movement in space with freedom of choice, political agency and social potentialities, and implying that immobility leads to the opposite: un-freedom, lack of political agency and social stagnation. S. Turner and S. Jensen; Reflections on Life in Ghettos, Camps and Prisons

Firstly, a clear distinction between social change and cultural change needs to be made. Each can be isolated from the other in theory, although in practice change in one will drive change in the other, and vice versa. Thus it is possible for a people to wholeheartedly embrace a culture of pervasive change even while living lives of social stagnation. Contrariwise, it would be possible for people living lives of dramatic social change to embrace a culture of unchanging verities. J. Nielsen; "Social Stagnation and Cultural Change", geopolicraticus. (2009)

Failure to deliver growth implies social stagnation, a heightened concern with social justice and a heightened possibility of social unrest and instability. Tony Manzi, et al.; Social Sustainability in Urban Areas (2010)

Answer 2

escaping: (1) arranged marriages (2) family choosing career for youth (3) no more land because its been divided up too much (4) inability to afford own property, (5) lack of voice in family due to gender/age, etc.

Escaping [restrictive] societal norms.

OED

Norm 1b. A standard or pattern of social behaviour that is accepted in or expected of a group. Usually in plural.

1964 J. M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. iii. 38 All social groups develop norms, particularly about matters connected with the group's main purposes and activities.

and from Google Books:

Ethics for Records and Information Management - Page 97 Norman A. Mooradian · 2018

Furthermore, these norms may be widely recognized societal norms such as those that undergird professional confidentiality and intellectual property.

Societal Agents in Law: Quantitative Research - Page 137 Larry D. Barnett · 2019

Note, How Self-Restriction Laws Can Influence Societal Norms and Address Problems of Bounded Rationality,

Women Entrepreneurs and Strategic Decision Making Page 81 Tomos, Florica, ‎Kumar, Naresh, ‎Clifton, Nick · 2019

Even under this disadvantageous position which favors patriarchal societal norms and institutions,

Answer 3

One of the terms familiar to sociologists is conformity.

Cambridge

Conformity:

behaviour that follows the usual standards that are expected by a group or society

For example:

Social Science Libretexts

Conformity:

Social control is established by encouraging individuals to conform and obey social norms, both through formal and informal means. Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms. The tendency to conform occurs in small groups and in society as a whole, and may result from subtle unconscious influences or direct and overt social pressure. Conformity can occur in the presence of others, or when an individual is alone. For example, people tend to follow social norms when eating or watching television, regardless of whether others are present. As conformity is a group phenomenon, factors such as group size, unanimity, cohesion, status, prior commitment, and public opinion help determine the level of conformity an individual displays.

The term may be further qualified by social, rigid, repressive and other adjectives according to context.

Answer 4

I think the key to this concept you've described has to involve some form of the word rigidity. After that you can be creative -- e.g. the rigidity of his/her/their native village, rigid cultural norms, etc.

Collins definition of rigid:

1. Laws, rules, or systems that are rigid cannot be changed or varied, and are therefore considered to be rather severe.

2. If you disapprove of someone because you think they are not willing to change their way of thinking or behaving, you can describe them as rigid.