Abstract:
Migration remains one of the most politicized and misunderstood phenomena in contemporary public discourse. This essay interrogates four persistent myths that continue to shape migration narratives: that global migration is historically unprecedented; that we are facing a large-scale refugee crisis; that poverty is the principal driver of migration; and that migrants constitute a burden on host societies. Drawing on robust empirical evidence - primarily from the work of Hein de Haas and leading international datasets - the author demonstrates that these claims do not withstand scrutiny. While the absolute number of international migrants has risen, their share of the global population has remained stable. Refugees comprise a small fraction of this total, and the notion of "crisis" often reflects political response more than demographic reality. Moreover, development tends to facilitate migration rather than suppress it, and migrants - contrary to popular belief - make net positive contributions to host economies over the long term. Rather than treating migration as an aberration or emergency, this paper argues for recognizing it as a structural and enduring dimension of global transformation. By replacing rhetoric with evidence and complexity with clarity, scholars and policymakers can foster more accurate, constructive, and equitable approaches to migration governance.