Guess who's coming to dinner: Migration from Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to South Africa

Although a more balanced debate about cross-border migration in South Afric a is starring to take place, xenophobic stereotypes about migrants of Afric an origin are still all too common. Allusions to a "flood of illegal aliens " who bring disease and crime to the country and who are seen to be a threa t to the social and fiscal stability of South Africa are, unfortunately, st ill rife in the mainstream press in South Africa. This article is an attemp t to challenge some of these stereotypes. Drawing on national surveys recen tly conducted by the Southern African Migration Project (SAMP) in Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, it will be argued that much of the negative stereo typing around cross-border migration from these three countries in particul ar is unfounded. A profile of migration histories of those interviewed is f ollowed by a discussion of peoples' attitudes towards cross-border movement and immigration policy as well as an analysis of possible future migration trends. The article concludes with a discussion of the policy relevance of the research and makes some general policy recommendations.