WE are well used to claims from a variety of sources - some fringe figures and others who are actually elected representatives - that a rising tide of immigration is changing our society beyond recognition.

It is this kind of thinking, together with suggestions that newcomers are being unfairly handed houses and a range of benefits, which directly contributed to the serious race violence witnessed in loyalist parts of Belfast and other places, including Ballymena, for the last three summers in a row.

General feelings of alienation, and cynicism about the role of the authorities, can never be simply dismissed, so it is important to closely study the various trends contained in official figures as they are updated.

The latest data released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) last week was particularly telling, and proves that most of the persistent rumours about immigration in the region do not have a factual basis.

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It indicated that there were an estimated 12,100 international arrivals here in 2025, a drop of 4,800 in the course of a year, while 10,200 people left, giving a net gain of 1,900, the lowest level in over a decade if the pandemic year of........

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