Why Do People Migrate? Part 1: Facts

While I have been an advocate for supporting refugees, I believe it is reasonable to question the economic (and other) impacts of doing so. The article explains the various concerns that have been expressed by Europeans, and while I am American living in the United States, I have heard those concerns before. The fear of losing work to someone that is not even from your country, the fear of having to accept lower wages to compete with immigrants (who may or may not be legally authorized to stay or work in the country) who will work for less, these are the same concerns that are often expressed in my country around the issue of (“illegal”) immigration. People invest a lot of their lives on working, sometimes begrudgingly. So I do understand and hear these concerns.
I think what is important, however, when raising concerns, is that we are not merely speculating. We should be aiming for a fair solution for the good of the community and, hopefully, humanity. This means looking to past and present (like the article does) for possible outcomes, this means understanding the true basis of issues (and holding governments accountable when necessary, not finding scapegoats), and utilizing as much available data as possible before reaching conclusions.