How Migration Really Works

October 2, 2023
De Haas (Age of Migration), a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam, argues in this meticulous survey that the widespread assumption that today is an era of “unprecedented mass migration” is wrong. In fact, he notes, for the last 60 years, international migration as a percentage of world population has been relatively low and unchanged. Drawing on extensive empirical research, de Haas debunks 22 such “migration myths,” arguing along the way that migration is neither a significant problem nor a solution to such concerns as demographic aging. Each chapter describes a myth and provides counterevidence. For example, de Haas picks apart the assertion that “immigration undermines the welfare state” in developed countries by citing studies showing that people do not migrate to obtain welfare benefits, that the fiscal cost of immigrants is relatively small compared to GDP, and that undocumented immigrants are net contributors to the welfare system through their tax payments. Throughout, de Haas considers a range of issues, including whether border restrictions reduce immigration (they don’t), the prevalence of sex trafficking (highly exaggerated), and the impact of climate change on migration (it will be minimal). That de Haas assesses each myth in a similar way and in a list-like format makes for a somewhat repetitious but still highly informative account. Immigration advocates will want to take a look.

Starred review from November 15, 2023
A convincing argument that most of what we believe about immigration is wrong. De Haas, a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and founding member of Oxford's International Migration Institute, has spent his career investigating migration, but whenever he speaks before a general audience, the result is "petty bickering." Provided one is not an ideologue, it's entertaining when an expert debunks popular myths, and the author debunks one in each of his 22 chapters. From 1960 to 2017, the number of global international migrants rose from 93 million to 247 million. That doesn't mean immigration is skyrocketing, however, since Earth's population increased by the same percentage over that period. The "heyday of transatlantic migration" was the 19th century, when tens of millions of Europeans were colonizing the world. In the 19th century, critics warned that immigrants were destroying American culture. "It may be difficult to imagine now," writes the author, "but Germans, Italians, Irish, Polish, Japanese, Jews and Catholics were once seen as unassimilable and even a menace to the nation in ways that are not fundamentally different from the way Muslims and Latinos have been portrayed in more recent times." Although less inclined to demonize immigrants, liberals display their own share of prejudice. Believing that immigrants are fleeing poverty (another myth), they propose sending massive aid to poor nations, certain that once citizens have jobs, they'll stay home. Not only is this a myth; the opposite is true. Immigration is expensive, and the penniless can't afford to travel. Immigrants move to other countries for jobs (not a myth), and those countries need their labor. The world's leading emigrators--Mexico, Turkey, India, and the Philippines--are not impoverished, but middle-income countries. It's unlikely that many of the people who should read this book will do so, but everyone else will relish the lesson. A vital, page-turning education.

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Starred review from November 17, 2023

Migration scholar de Haas (sociology, Univ. of Amsterdam; coauthor, The Age of Migration) seeks to dispel the most common myths about immigration, starting with the idea that it is at an all-time high. Throughout time, people have moved from one location to another. Internal migration, specifically from rural to urban locales, is the most common form of movement. The Great Migration in the United States is only one of many examples. Concerns about certain populations being unassimilable is nothing new, a prejudice that was directed toward eastern and southern European populations in the early 20th century. De Haas asserts that the main source of illegal immigration is overstaying visas, making immigrants who have arrived legally become undocumented. Meanwhile, worksite enforcement is low in both the States and Europe, primarily because businesses want cheap labor. De Haas argues here that immigration systems are broken, which has forced migrants underground, allowing for their exploitation. Fundamentally, he believes that migration is not a problem to be solved; instead, it is an intrinsic human urge to deliberately go where one can have a better future. VERDICT Essential reading, given the current climate of misinformation around immigration.--Barrie Olmstead

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