A wave of anti-immigration xenophobia is sweeping through many developed countries. Even the most respectable politicians are trying to take advantage of the aversion towards strangers in order to attain their political goals.
The mass deportations of the Roma people from France are only the tip of the iceberg. Symptoms of hostility and racism towards immigrants are seen in countries including the United States, Australia, Great Britain, Russia and Italy. In the United States, individual states have or are planning to introduce anti-immigrant regulations. Aversion to illegal immigrants is intensified by discussions on repealing constitutional provisions that guarantee citizenship to every individual born in America, although politically speaking, the chances of overthrowing the 14th Amendment are very small.
Italy and France are trying to contain the influx of both the Roma people from Romania and Bulgaria, as well as immigrants from Africa. At the same time, Great Britain is getting ready to introduce a yearly quota on the number of immigrants admitted to the country from outside the European Union, while Russia is clearing Moscow and Petersburg of aliens coming from the Asian republics of the former USSR.
The reasons for it seem obvious – the poor state of the global economy, a job market crisis and a weakening demand for an imported labor force. In such circumstances, voters are willingly listening to demagogic arguments that it's the immigrants who are the main source of all problems.
In the reluctance towards aliens – fueled by politicians – one can notice many examples of paradox and hypocrisy. On the one hand, Americans are increasingly hostile when it comes to immigrants, but they still voted for the son of an immigrant from Kenya as their president. The French made a similar choice – Nicholas Sarkozy is the son of a Hungarian aristocrat. The Independent, a British newspaper, has pointed out that both Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the leader of the opposition party, a liberal, Tony Abbot, bragged in their campaigns that they were tough when it came to the so-called boat people – the groups of illegal immigrants traveling in boats to Australian shores. But the irony is that they are both immigrants born in London and Wales.
Instilling an aversion to aliens is an act of political shortsightedness, especially in countries such as the United States and Australia since they grew and flourished on immigrant labor. It is easier to rouse xenophobia, populism and racism than talk constructively about fixing the economy.
When dislike towards aliens emerges, it is difficult to control it. Forcing foreigners to leave the country may result in [negative] economic consequences – quite the opposite from the intended goals.
The worst part is that in an atmosphere of anti-immigration, it is difficult to conduct any reasonable discussion on meaningful reform. There are fears that during Congressional campaigns, we will hear more populist slogans, which voters like to hear, instead of rational arguments.
