The current debates over immigration in
several developed countries should not demonize migrants, the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today.

Public perceptions in many developed countries
of migrants taking jobs, lowering wages and being a burden on
social services are not borne out by studies, including IOM’s
World Migration Report 2005.

Competition for low skill jobs is largely
between migrant communities themselves; migrants have negligible if
any impact on lowering wages while studies have also not clearly
proved that migrants, both regular and irregular, are a greater
burden on social services than nationals. Contrary to popular
perception, many irregular migrants do not use social services for
fear of being caught and deported. According to a 2004 study by the
International Labour Organization, US employers paid the government
up to $20 billion in social security services contributions
collected from the irregular migrants they employed between
1990-1998.   This is in addition, of course, to the large
sums of money paid on a regular basis by lawful migrants in the
form of taxes and other forms of support to local economies.

“The significant economic, social and
cultural contributions made by migrants to host communities need to
be recognized,” said Brunson McKinley, IOM Director General.
“One way to achieve this recognition would be by having more
balanced and accurate information and reporting on the positive
impact of migration.”

Many countries have been built on immigration
and the contributions of temporary and permanent foreign workers,
including the United States and many in Western Europe. Modern
economic growth and development is also being partly fuelled by
migration. In the UK, which has opened its labour markets to
nationals from new European Union accession states, the economy is
benefiting as a direct result, according to a new report by Ernst
and Young ITEM Club. The report forecasts the economy will grow to
2.6 per cent in 2007 and to 3 per cent in 2008. The vibrancy of the
Spanish economy in recent years is also being significantly
attributed to immigration.

Governments have the right and responsibility
to determine which non-nationals to admit to their territories, and
under what conditions. However, the human rights of all, including
migrants, need to be respected.  At the same time, migrants
have a responsibility to obey the laws of the destination country,
including immigration and labour laws.

Adequate channels for legal migration need to
be developed to meet the needs of modern economies, including the
greater use of temporary labour migration schemes where
appropriate.  This is particularly important in addressing the
growth of grey market employment in informal sectors such as
agriculture and many service industries.

The current debate in many countries on
regularization of irregular migrants only partly addresses the need
for better management of migration. In itself, regularization is no
panacea. It should be part of a broader, comprehensive approach to
migration management, and in particular, the management of labour
market needs while investing in more effective poverty reduction
schemes.

The same applies to border control. Although
developed countries spend much money to stop irregular migration at
their borders, evidence shows that such measures are not
particularly effective or efficient on their own. A US study found
that between 1980 and 2000 when spending on prevention of irregular
migration rose by 20 times, the estimated number of unauthorised
foreigners in the country rose by six million people despite
several amnesty programmes. Many western European countries have
experienced similar trends.

“Today’s mobile and interconnected
world requires governments to take a fresh, multi-dimensional and
balanced approach to managing the mobility of persons. This
includes addressing the needs of an increasingly global labour
market, particularly in sectors as diverse as health care and IT,
demographic forecasts of aging and shrinking populations in much of
the developed world, as well as recognising the important positive
potential of migration in contributing to economic growth and
development in the poorest countries,” added McKinley.