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MIGRATION MYTHBUSTINGMyth #1: ‘Refugees crossing the Channel by boat is illegal.’
Reality: The 1951 Refugee Convention says that governments cannot penalise people for how they enter the country if they are coming to seek refuge. https://www.unhcr.org/uk/3b66c2aa10
Myth #2: ‘Immigration puts a strain on the NHS’
Reality: Migrants make up a significant percent of the NHS workforce. 13.3% of NHS staff say that their nationality is not British. 28.4% of doctors in the NHS were born abroad. https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/blogs/immigration-and-the-nhs-the-evidence
Reality: Migrants make up a significant percent of the NHS workforce. 13.3% of NHS staff say that their nationality is not British. 28.4% of doctors in the NHS were born abroad. https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/blogs/immigration-and-the-nhs-the-evidence
Myth #3: ‘Tougher border controls aim to tackle smuggler gangs.’
Reality: Tougher border controls mean more people will use smugglers and risk dangerous routes of entry. The govt needs to offer people who seek asylum a safe and legal way to do so.
http://www.aviddetention.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Briefing-Paper_Does-Detention-Deter_April-2015-A4_web_final_3.pdf
Reality: Tougher border controls mean more people will use smugglers and risk dangerous routes of entry. The govt needs to offer people who seek asylum a safe and legal way to do so.
http://www.aviddetention.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Briefing-Paper_Does-Detention-Deter_April-2015-A4_web_final_3.pdf
Myth #4: ‘We need tougher borders, we can't afford to support more people seeking asylum.’
Reality: From 2015-18 the UK spent ~£100m on security at the Calais border. Ppl seeking asylum are given just £37.75/w by the UK govt and have no right to work. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42723401
Reality: From 2015-18 the UK spent ~£100m on security at the Calais border. Ppl seeking asylum are given just £37.75/w by the UK govt and have no right to work. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42723401
Myth# 5: ‘The UK does more to support unaccompanied children than any EU member state’
Reality: The HO has drawn up plans to end the system of allowing child refugees to be reunited with family in the UK according to a draft of the Brexit negotiating doc. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/24/outrage-at-u-turn-on-promise-to-reunite-child-refugees-with-uk-family
Reality: The HO has drawn up plans to end the system of allowing child refugees to be reunited with family in the UK according to a draft of the Brexit negotiating doc. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/24/outrage-at-u-turn-on-promise-to-reunite-child-refugees-with-uk-family
Myth #6: ‘We have taken more refugees than the rest of europe’
Reality: In 2019…..
Germany - 111,000 applications
France - 87,100 applications
Spain - 80,000 applications
Greece - 47,000 applications
UK - 32,000 applications https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/21810/seeking-asylum-in-europe-in-2019-facts-and-figures
Reality: In 2019…..
Germany - 111,000 applications
France - 87,100 applications
Spain - 80,000 applications
Greece - 47,000 applications
UK - 32,000 applications https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/21810/seeking-asylum-in-europe-in-2019-facts-and-figures
Myth #7: ‘The UK never detains children’
Reality: In 2018 - 63 children entered immigration detention centres in the UK. Despite the government’s claim to have abolished child detention in 2011.
http://www.aviddetention.org.uk/immigration-detention/what-immigration-detention
Reality: In 2018 - 63 children entered immigration detention centres in the UK. Despite the government’s claim to have abolished child detention in 2011.
http://www.aviddetention.org.uk/immigration-detention/what-immigration-detention
Myth #8: ‘All refugees come to Europe.’
Reality: Last year approximately 79.5 million refugees were forced to leave their homes.
The UK took 20,339, so just 0.026% of the world's refugees.
Turkey hosts 3.6m
Pakistan hosts 1.4m
Uganda 1.4m
Sudan 1m+ https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/refugees-asylum-seekers-and-migrants/global-refugee-crisis-statistics-and-facts/
Reality: Last year approximately 79.5 million refugees were forced to leave their homes.
The UK took 20,339, so just 0.026% of the world's refugees.
Turkey hosts 3.6m
Pakistan hosts 1.4m
Uganda 1.4m
Sudan 1m+ https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/refugees-asylum-seekers-and-migrants/global-refugee-crisis-statistics-and-facts/
Myth #9: 'People who come to the UK from France can’t be asylum seekers because France is a safe country'
Reality: According to international law - refugees have the right to settle in any country they choose. Asylum seekers in France face ongoing persecution from authorities.
Reality: According to international law - refugees have the right to settle in any country they choose. Asylum seekers in France face ongoing persecution from authorities.
Police in Calais routinely use pepper spray on migrants when they pose no threat; regularly spray or confiscate sleeping bags, clothing, food, and water. Police also disrupt the delivery of humanitarian assistance. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/24/france-inquiry-finds-police-abused-migrants-calais
Myth: #10: 'People come to the UK from France because we give generous benefits like paying for hotels.'
Reality: Asylum seekers in the UK are provided with just £37.5 a week to cover their basic needs.
Asylum seekers in the UK are often provided with inadequate housing...
Reality: Asylum seekers in the UK are provided with just £37.5 a week to cover their basic needs.
Asylum seekers in the UK are often provided with inadequate housing...
In 2019 the Guardian reported that 100s of asylum seekers were being crammed into a network of “guest houses” provided by a Home Office contractor that are overrun by cockroaches, rats and mice. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/20/asylum-seekers-crammed-into-cockroach-infested-accommodation-home-office
Research shows what commonly brings asylum seekers to the UK is not the benefits but language, family or the existence of community networks who can support them while they try to rebuild their lives after experiencing the horrors of conflict.
https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/rcchance.pdf
https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/rcchance.pdf
Myth #11: ‘Migration is driving down wages by undercutting British workers’
Reality: The most recent research from LSE says “the areas of the UK with large increases in EU immigration did not suffer greater falls in the jobs and pay of UK-born workers."
Reality: The most recent research from LSE says “the areas of the UK with large increases in EU immigration did not suffer greater falls in the jobs and pay of UK-born workers."
The big falls in wages after 2008 are due to the global financial crisis and a weak economic recovery, not to immigration.
http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/brexit05.pdf
http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/brexit05.pdf
Myth #12: 'Migrants steal jobs from British workers.'
Reality: The job market is not fixed - there are not a certain no. of jobs which will be "taken up" by a country's population. Immigrants who are self-employed or entrepreneurs also create new jobs. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36261966
Reality: The job market is not fixed - there are not a certain no. of jobs which will be "taken up" by a country's population. Immigrants who are self-employed or entrepreneurs also create new jobs. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36261966
Myth #13: 'The UK’s housing crisis is caused by immigration.'
Reality: The primary cause of the housing crisis is the lack of new houses being built. Since the 1980s, public bodies have largely abandoned large scale housing construction projects. https://www.bigissue.com/latest/why-does-the-uk-have-a-housing-crisis/
Reality: The primary cause of the housing crisis is the lack of new houses being built. Since the 1980s, public bodies have largely abandoned large scale housing construction projects. https://www.bigissue.com/latest/why-does-the-uk-have-a-housing-crisis/
Private firms also contribute to the housing crisis in a number of ways including land banking - holding on to land that could be used for housing, until the value of land reaches its peak. This reduces the availability of housing and drives house prices up further.
Empty or second homes also contribute to this problem with over 200,000 left dormant for over six months in the UK. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/25/england-has-more-than-200000-empty-homes-how-to-revive-them
Myth #14: 'Migrants are a drain on our economy.'
Reality: The OBR shows that incoming migrants are more likely to be of working age than the population in general and so actually reduce pressure on the economy through income tax and spending. https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/the-fiscal-impact-of-immigration-in-the-uk/
Reality: The OBR shows that incoming migrants are more likely to be of working age than the population in general and so actually reduce pressure on the economy through income tax and spending. https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/the-fiscal-impact-of-immigration-in-the-uk/
