10 myths about the UK's 'migrant crisis', debunked

One of the most puzzling conundrums of the modern era is what a parody news site dubbed 'Schrodinger's immigrant'. Like the cat in the box, this migrant is both everywhere and nowhere, somehow managing to simultaneously steal jobs from hardworking Britons and scrounge off the benefits system.

At the moment more than 7,000 people live in 'the Jungle' migrant camp in Calais. Thousands have tried to cross the Channel in an attempt to flee bloodshed, persecution and poverty at home, and the government has been trying everything it can to keep them at bay.

At the Conservative Party conference Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary has said EU migrants will be deported for committing 'minor crimes', and that there will be new curbs on international students and foreign workers coming to the UK. She also promised a 'Controlling Migration Fund' of £140 million to 'ease pressure' on public services.

Rudd told the conference hall:

I also come here today with a warning to those that simply oppose any steps to reduce net migration: this Government will not waver in its commitment to put the interests of the British people first.

Below we've taken some of the most common myths and misconceptions about migration in an effort to separate fact from political rhetoric and tabloid fiction:

1. Yes, immigration levels are high, but that's not a bad thing

An estimated 641,000 people immigrated to Britain in 2014, 284,000 of them for work, which is the highest ever annual figure. While the government puts a negative spin on this, the truth is that Britain's economy has started to grow again, which makes it attractive as a place to seek work - and both right and left leaning think tanks say our growing economy needs them.

2. Immigrants aren't stealing your jobs

After borders in the EU were opened in the mid 2000s, many eastern Europeans did come to the UK in search of higher paid work than they could get at home.

However: recorded unemployment rates went down between 2003 - 2005, and recorded vacancy rates went up slightly.

Many of these people work in occupations such as catering, driving, and construction, where wages are often driven down, but Professor John Salt of UCL’s Migration Research Unit told The Independent that:

The econometric evidence suggests immigration doesn’t generally impact on the pay or employment rates of existing citizens

A protester holds a sign during a march hoping to draw attention to claims of exploitation and discrimination of migrant workers, in Trafalgar Square on May 7, 2007 in London.

3. And they're not overburdening public services, either

Recent immigrants have made a net contribution of £20bn to the UK over the last ten years, according to a UCL study.

Foreign born people are much less likely to claim benefits or live in social housing since to qualify you need to have permanent residency in the UK - those on work visas, students and asylum seekers don't qualify. A report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that 90 per cent of public housing goes to people born in the country.

4. No, most immigrants aren't here illegally

The phrase 'illegal immigrant' is a contradiction in terms. Someone arriving in the UK could be a migrant from elsewhere within the EU, a migrant fleeing persecution or desperate poverty further afield, or a refugee from a conflict zone. Someone who is an 'asylum seeker' has every legal right to be in the country - they're waiting on a decision.

5. Yes, people do learn English

The majority of migrants in the UK already speak English when they arrive - the 2011 census showed that only 138,000 of the 7.5 million non-UK born residents in the country don't speak English, and many of those are thought to be older generation Asian women who never worked or lived outside their communities.

It was estimated in the census that 1.7 million can speak English very well, a further 1.6 million can speak fluently and 726,000 can get by in conversation but have difficulties with written English.

Since an English language test is now part of work visa conditions, this situation is likely to continue.

6. Europe and the UK definitely don't host more than their fair share of refugees

The opposite is true. Developing countries host over 80 per cent of the world's refugee population, and Turkey, which is home to 1.59million Syrians fleeing war at home, is the most stretched.

Germany is currently home to 7.2million non-German residents - and their media is puzzled by how Britain is up in arms about a migration crisis.

Figures from the OECD show that new asylum seekers in 2015-16 constituted just 0.68 per cent of the UK population, compared to 15.52 per cent in Sweden.

7. No, relaxed laws don't lead to an inundation of migrants

As in the highly published case of Victor Spiresau from Romania, who landed at Luton airport on January 1st 2014 ready to start work and was greeted by two MPs, the scaremongering predictions once EU labour restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians were lifted did not lead to an influx of migrants.

Overall, Bulgarians who did leave home went to Denmark and Germany, where wages are higher, or to Italy and Spain where there are already established communities.

8. Migrants do contribute to the UK economy since many can't even afford to send money to their families elsewhere

While everyone is entitled to use their earnings to support their loved ones, since the economic crisis hit in 2008 remittance to migrant workers' countries of origin has actually fallen as many people who work in the UK and have families elsewhere have to tighten the purse strings, according to the World Bank.

9. People's level of worry over immigrants is not related to how many immigrants there actually are

During the last election immigration ranked consistently high in voters' concerns, but it had no bearing on where people live. In Wales, 20 per cent said it was their most pressing worry, and in the north-east, 19 per cent, although only one in 20 people living in these regions was born abroad.

10. Crime rates fall rather than rise in areas with concentrated migrant populations

The presence of immigrant communities has no bearing on levels of violent crime, and in some areas, a slight increase in property crime, according to LSE research.

In areas with eastern European communities, all crime rates have fallen.

Brian Bell, a research fellow at LSE, said in a statment:

Immigrants are just like natives – if they have a good job and income they don’t commit crime

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