Busting myths about migration to help create better policy

When presenting migration policies, European politicians often assert that smugglers play a key role in luring people into irregular migration. But according to the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), a research and analysis network on migration, this is simply not true. The results of a survey of 60,000 migrants carried out by the MMC reveal that in reality, only around 4 percent of migrants cited smugglers as an influence in their decision to migrate.

Friends and family, returnees or social media were all more likely to play a role in the decision-making process above smugglers. For migrants in West and North Africa, many of whom make journeys to Europe, smugglers were cited by just 7 percent of participants as playing a role, far behind other friends or family in another country (41 percent), parents (22 percent), other friends or family in country of departure (21 percent), returnees (16 percent), social media (12 percent) or a spouse (8 percent).

About one third of respondents to the MMC survey said that no one and nothing influenced their initial decision to migrate. This is evidence that policy makers should not ignore, Bram Frouws, the director of the MMC, told InfoMigrants.

“We understand that there is a political reality out there, […] but we believe myth busting should be done more. […] Policies should be based on evidence, rather than myths or beliefs,” he said.

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‘Smuggling is just a symptom of the phenomenon’

Focusing on the smugglers as the root of evil and the driver of migration is unhelpful, said Frouws. “Smuggling is just a symptom of the phenomenon. I think it is easy for politicians to blame the smugglers for all irregular migration. It is quite easy to sell politically, it is an easy soundbite. The kind of language we hear about ‘smashing the gangs,’ ‘disrupting the business model of smugglers,’ it really diverts the attention away from other policy failures as well. And also from all the complexities that ultimately drive irregular migration, including the demand for labor, for example, which is very important in many sectors across Europe.”

Frouws added that blaming the smugglers ends up shepherding in harsher policies, not just towards the smugglers but the migrants who are using them to migrate. “It is a way to justify an increasingly harsh approach [towards migration]. Especially in the criminalization of the smuggling phenomenon, which then really justifies a harsh crackdown on smuggling and irregular migration.”

This does not mean that Frouws is arguing for leniency – he believes smugglers, especially those responsible for serious crimes, should be prosecuted. But smuggling is only part of the puzzle, and oversimplifying the issue means boosting criminal gangs rather than cracking down on them. “No matter how hard you crack down, networks will ultimately adapt, professionalize, increase their prices,” Frouws said. “As long as demand exists, there are going to be smugglers that try and satisfy that demand for migration. Just like, as long as there is demand for drugs, there will be drug traffickers.”

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How ideas influence policy

The idea that smugglers are luring people into making that decision to migrate has real-world knock-on effects on policy, and thus where money is spent. For instance, in February 2024, it was announced that the UK government planned to involve influencers on TikTok in its campaign to discourage irregular migration. A similar initiative was announced by the British Home Office (interior ministry) in August 2023. Then, the government hoped to partner with social media companies to “accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online,” stated a British government press release at the time.

Vice magazine reported in February 2024 that the Conservative government at the time had set aside a budget of 570,000 pounds, (about 686,000 euros) for the policy. In September 2024, the current Labour UK government announced increased funding to help “crack down on people smugglers.” Home Secretary Yvette Coooper promised to inject 75 million pounds (around 90 million euros) to improve the capabilities of the UK’s Border Security Command.

Cracking down on criminal gangs

“Criminal gangs are getting away with undermining our border security and putting lives at risk,” said Cooper. She added that the government would increase security officers and use “every tool at our disposal to dismantle this vile trade.”

Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said that they that the new government units set up to combat smuggling would “help stop human trafficking gangs in their tracks.”

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and countless other European governments have also launched similar initiatives aimed at dismantling the gangs and stopping the smugglers. In October 2024, Italian police announced they had cracked an alleged smuggling network bringing migrants into southern Italy via Turkey and Greece.

Meloni praised investigators and said: “It is an absolute priority to fight those exploiting the legitimate desire of people to find more favorable living conditions to make a profit.” She stressed that the “government is determined to dismantle these criminal networks and eradicate the illegal trafficking of human beings,” reported the Italian news agency ANSA.

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Individual agency

Frouws highlights the fact that a large proportion of migrants who were surveyed said they were not influenced by anything or anyone to migrate. “That is really important to stress, because it shows the level of individual agency and decision making,” he told InfoMigrants.

Frouws believes that most migrants first decide to migrate, and they then contact smugglers. These contacts are more likely to be based on personal networks and by “asking around” than to happen online. While smugglers active in migrant communities might also proactively contact migrants, the initial decision is not taken because of the smugglers themselves, he says.

Similarly, most migrants did not point to smugglers as the main perpetrators of abuse, Frouws said. “Smugglers are certainly responsible for a lot of violence against migrants, but so are military, border guards, other government officials, criminal gangs, other armed actors. There are all kinds of groups involved in violating the rights of migrants. It is not so black and white as is often portrayed.”

Many of those named as violent perpetrators might also be involved in a smuggling business, agrees Frouws. There are numerous reports of armed militias in Libya and even state actors complicit in the business of detaining migrants for money before transporting them back to the coast for another Mediterranean crossing attempt.

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False distinction between ‘migrants’ and ‘refugees’

While MMC underlines the clear legal distinction between refugees and migrants, it also highlights the problem of putting people into either the box of simply “migrant” or “refugee.”

The false dichotomy created by separating people who migrate into these two distinct groups only affects whether or not someone can be returned, according to Frouws. The likelihood that someone who migrated simply for economic reasons can be returned to their home country is greater than someone who has fled their home country because of war or persecution.

But the lines are much more blurred in reality, says Frouws. The results of the survey show that people migrate for a variety of different reasons. They may be fleeing war, conflict or discrimination, and may therefore qualify for a recognized refugee status or international protection in a host country. But they may also have moved several times and, as well as having a need for protection, among their reasons to migrate may also have been a desire for a better life, better job opportunities or a safer or more stable society for them and their families.

“Some refugees may have fled their country of origin, and have spent some time in a host country in the region, but then may have decided to move on towards Europe. At that point, they are doing that partly also because of economic reasons, for a better future. It doesn’t make them less deserving of international protection, according to the UN and EU conventions,” said Frouws.

“It is important to underline that people are more than just refugees, they are also human beings with their own aspirations and motivations for their future. It doesn’t make them less deserving of protection, but it almost strips them of their agency if we just see them as refugees who need protection, rather than humans who have other motivations and can actually contribute economically to our societies in Europe.”

At the same time, migrants should not be seen as simply chasing money, Frouws said. “Let’s take an example of someone who decides to leave say Senegal, where they are not really being persecuted, but they end up in Libya alongside people who could be classed as refugees. They often suffer the same experiences there. They might fall into the hands of human traffickers. At that point, the need for protection and the danger they experience are actually the same as refugees who travel along the same route.”

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A combined approach for the future

An effective migration policy in the future will require a shift in emphasis, Bram Frouws says. The new EU Asylum and Migration Pact, a package of reforms on a common asylum policy to be implemented over the next year and a half, contains some positive elements, but is incomplete, he adds.

“The legal migration part is not sufficiently developed. It will be such an important part of the puzzle to address irregular migration. Also returns is not part of the pact and that does need to work better. I think, if you create more legal pathways, […] I mean proper upscaling of labor migration, circular migration, that would enable a conversation in these countries that is more about an equal partnership,” he said.

“If people know, I cross the Mediterranean, I take all these terrible risks, I pay a lot of money to do that, but if I don’t have a valid asylum claim, there is no way I can stay here, and I might actually be returned home in a matter of weeks, I think that will probably change people’s decision making at some point, especially if they know there are legal alternatives out there. There will always be some boat crossings, but not at the scale we currently see.”