The Italian branch of Caritas has published a handbook with a list of "Ten Things to Know About Migrants and Immigration," to debunk some of the most common stereotypes on migration. Ten different themes are covered in the handbook, including rescues, the presence of migrants in Italy and Europe, as well as reception and employment. 

The handbook seeks to debunk stereotypes by discussing common false statements that are made about refugees and migration. The first stereotype is:

1. "Let's stop the rescues at sea." Caritas explains the importance of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean, which "with the increase in migrants heading to Europe have saved tens of thousands of people." The organization noted that "anyone who is able to intervene" in the case of calls for help at sea "has the legal obligation to do so." 

2. "There are too many immigrants." Caritas explains that this statement derives from a "distorted vision that originates from at least two elements: The frequency with which the media deal with the issue, often using alarmist tones, and the tendency, especially by those living in areas with a higher level of migrants, to assume that the rest of the country is in the same situation." The organization noted that, according to interior ministry figures, there were 131,000 refugees in the country as of mid-2016, out of a population of about 60 million. This translates to a ratio of 2 immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants. 

3. "All of them are in Italy. And in Europe?" Caritas noted that "in the world, most of the refugees are taken in by non-European countries, with the exception of Germany, which is one of the top 10 countries in the world in terms of refugee reception." Out of over 17 million refugees in the world, "only 2.3 million are in Europe, while in Africa there are over 5 million, in Asia 3.5 million and in the Middle East and North Africa some 2.7 million." Sweden "is still the country with the highest migrant-to-population ratio," it noted. 

4. "Immigrants steal our jobs and do not pay taxes." Caritas noted that, "from 2008 until 2016 there was steady growth of foreign workers, from 1.7 million to 2.4 million," but also that "immigrants are mostly employed in jobs low and mid-qualified jobs." The organization said that there are 2.3 million foreigners, "7.5 percent of the total, and they pay 7.2 billion euros" in income tax. "From 2010 to 2016, foreigners' income tax rose by 13.4 percent, while revenue from Italians dropped by 1.6 percent." 

5. "Help them in their home countries." Caritas noted that, in many cases, "immigrants do not come from the poorest countries in the world and are not the poorest in their countries," and thus "development policies in disadvantaged countries are right and must be supported," but that "to consider this as migration control is a questionable strategy." Moreover, "aid given to fight departures means paying governments to use violent methods to prevent the emigration of their young citizens in search of better futures."