Why has international migration become an issue of such intense public and political concern? How closely linked are migrants with terrorist organizations? What factors lie behind the dramatic increase in the number of women migrating? This Very Short Introduction looks at the phenomenon of international human migration - both legal and illegal - to reveal that migration actually presents opportunities that must be taken advantage of in light of the current economic climate. The author debunks myths such as the claim that migrants take jobs away from local workers, and that they take advantage of the health care system and western living conditions without returning any benefits of their own, and reveals that society as we now know it can not function without them. Not only do migrants fill a key gap in the domestic labour market, they also have a significant impact on the economies of their home countries - in places such as Mexico and the Philippines, the remittances they send home often exceed official development aid. Using interviews with migrants from around the world, the author presents the human side of topics such as asylum and refugees, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, development, and the international labour force. His goal throughout is to allow readers to see beyond the negative spin usually given the subject by the media and politicians, and come to their own conclusions on the international migration situation today.

科泽，华盛顿特区布鲁金斯学会人道问题研究员，布鲁金斯-伯恩移民项目副主任。2004年到2005年，曾被临时调往全球移民事务委员为，为联合国秘书长撰写报告。在国际移民和难民问题方面多有著述。