Simply looking at net migration ignores all sorts of issues. The first is that most peoples impressions of what a country would be like to live in are quite dif

Simply looking at net migration ignores all sorts of issues. The first is that most peoples impressions of what a country would be like to live in are quite different from the reality. The US is the figurehead of the developed world, and so of course those in less developed countries would say they dreamed of a life there. The reality is that almost none of those people actually know what their life - the life of an immigrant - would be. It's really not hard to find immigrants all over the developed world who are completely disillusioned with their life and would jump at a chance to return home. Often what keeps people in the country they emigrate to isn't some deep love of their new life, but circumstance - children, too little money to go home, too much pride to return home having admitted they've failed or familial expectations for money to be sent home. The vast majority of immigrants to the developed world live in near poverty. I often find that even British people's perception of the US and Canada is quite different to the reality that I've experienced. It's driven by the media portrayal and perhaps brief holidays. For people from very different backgrounds that gulf will be far, far greater. The second is that the level of immigration controls a country sets directly impact the net migration into the country. Regardless of how many people want to live somewhere, if they don't let you in then it doesn't really matter. It's very hard to use immigration as a metric without compensating for that somehow.