For this post, I am highlighting the book How Migration Really Works by Hein de Haas.
The debate about immigration is creating seismic shifts and changes in policies here in the UK.
Fueled by the toxicity of public discourse surrounding diversity, identity and racism.
Often framed for political fearmongering.
And portraying inaccurate representations of what is actually happening.
I have highlighted a few quotes by Haas.
He goes through popular myths we see in the headlines and debunks them.
There is a YouTube video below where de Haas presents these ideas.
Migration is literally of all times, and is as old as humanity. People have always moved.
— Hein de Haas
In Britain, ever since Tony Blair raised suspicion about ‘bogus’ asylum seekers, politicians have been vowing to crack down on unsolicited migrant arrivals on British shores, while the seemingly unstoppable arrival of East European workers was a major factor in the 2016 Brexit vote.
— Hein de Haas
In this ground-breaking book, based on over three decades of research, migration expert Professor Hein de Haas destroys 22 myths that politicians, interest groups and media regularly spread about immigration.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455478/how-migration-really-works-by-haas-hein-de/9780241998779
In this polarisation between pro and anti voices. What goes out the window is nuance. What we need is nuance. What is happening in the pro and anti-migration camps hugely exaggerates either the benefits or the harms of migration.
— Hein de Haas
In fact, there is evidence that global migration levels were actually higher in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the heyday of transatlantic migration, when tens of millions of Europeans left the ‘Old World’ to seek new opportunities and freedom in the ‘New World’ - in countries such as the United States, Canada, Argentina and Brazil, as well as Australia and New Zealand. This massive out-migration coincided with the peak of European imperialism, when many European soldiers, colonists, missionaries, administrators, entrepreneurs and workers settled in colonies in Africa and Asia.
— Hein de Haas
What are the main changes in global migration patterns? What are the main driving forces of migration? Will climate change lead to mass migration? Why do border restrictions fail to stop migration?
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