European politicians say migration is out of control. The numbers tell a different story

Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Despite a summer of heated anti-immigration debates across the European Union, unauthorized migration to EU countries dropped significantly overall in the first eight months of this year. There was, however, a spike in migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands. The majority of immigrants trying to make irregular crossings do so over the southern borders of the EU. The latest numbers from the United Nations’ migration agency show those crossings dropped by more than a third from January to August of this year. The number of migrants going to the Canaries more than doubled, however. Migration rates to Greece also increased.