Jersey's rich heritage has been formed by immigrants as far back as the Island's history goes

Well, not originally, anyway. Put more accurately, I’m an immigrant. And it gets worse. Because of me there is another one – my other half moved here three years ago from the UK to live with me.

We are among the 32.7 per cent who described our ethnicity on our census form as ‘British’.

Now, the news that fewer than 50 per cent of Islanders were born here may have shocked some people, but not this immigrant. You only have to ask around your workplace or friends and you probably could have guessed this yourself.

But take it a step further and ask those ‘Jersey-born’ colleagues or friends about their family history a couple of generations back and you will find out that there are very few – even those with names that we all associate with being ‘true Jersey’ – who don’t have some immigration not too many generations back. Be it French, Italian, Irish and so on, most are a diverse mix when you actually look more closely.

Of course immigration in Jersey is nothing new – as St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft told the States in his recent Christmas speech, the Island has been welcoming other nationalities for hundreds of years. He mentioned Huguenots, Italians, French and then later Portuguese and Polish, to name just a few.

And interestingly, in many cases these people were brought to the Island or actively encouraged by, yes you guessed it, the very people who now might be a bit annoyed that we are all here.

Take me as an example again. I moved here at the tender age of six, after my mum got a job as a youth worker at Le Squez. Initially we moved on a five-year contract, but that was extended and extended. Then she got a new job, first as the Youth Service’s training officer and later as the head of the Jersey Youth Service.

These were all jobs that those making the decisions obviously wanted her to do and were willing, at least at first, to use a work licence on her behalf and give her temporary housing qualifications.

At the time there was no one locally qualified to do those jobs and, in fact, it was only earlier this year that the Youth Service appointed its first locally-born head.

And I am not exaggerating when I say that it was largely thanks to the work of people like my mum and Shirley Costigan after and Peter Gambles before her – all immigrants – as well as others whose names I don’t know, who put in place better training opportunities and encouraged young locals to pursue careers in youth work, that a good old Jersey boy is now in charge.

Put more simply, my family was encouraged to this Island and then asked to stay. And I now love it just as much as if I were born here and, sorry folks, I’m not going anywhere.

This scenario will apply to hundreds and hundreds of families over the years, so I will say it again – it is no surprise that more than half of our population wasn’t born here.

But the question is, what do those who were born here think of that fact? I am sure that for the most part people won’t care either way, especially the younger generations who haven’t ever known things differently.

But there will always be some who will. Some will also pick and choose who they are offended by – immigrants who have been here a long time, like my family, perhaps won’t bother them much, but new ones from other countries where they talk differently, have a different culture and perhaps even look slightly different may well be a separate matter.

People don’t say it out loud often enough, but some Islanders can be very racist at times while others may not realise it but do verge on it. We have all seen it, heard it and, hopefully, been shocked by it. But what we can’t do is let those people use the recently released census figures to fuel their shallow, narrow-minded bigotry.

Yes, the States dropped the ball by having no clue whatsoever how many people were here and seriously underestimating the figures. Yes, Chief Minister Ian Gorst’s declaration that the States must take ‘full control’ on immigration is probably needed to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

But immigration is so engrained in Jersey’s history that, just like so many other places around the world, we are never going to stop it and no politician should ever say that they can because, quite simply, they can’t.

Nor should we – some immigration is needed to keep our economy, and the services that we rely on, functioning.

Immigration is an emotive issue but it is not a problem to be solved. And there are no simple answers. For what does ‘solve it’ even mean?

What is needed is balance. Balance to ensure that our services aren’t stretched too far, that there is enough room for everyone and so that the Island maintains its rich heritage.

But there also needs to be understanding. Because that rich heritage has also been formed by generations of immigrants almost as far back as the Island’s history goes.

Jersey is not Australia, where immigration controls have been stringently enforced for a long time, and we never will be.

Jersey needs to come up with its own way of doing things that appreciates the diversity its many immigrants bring, but also protects the Island for everyone’s future – immigrants included.