The Popular Backlash Against Migration Is Making a Global Problem Worse

July 05, 2019

Around the world, the popular backlash against global migration has fueled the rise of far-right populist parties and driven some centrist governments to adopt a tougher line on immigration. But with short-term strategies dominating the debate, many of the persistent drivers of migration go unaddressed, even as efforts to craft a global consensus on migration are hobbled by demands for quick solutions. 

Around the world, migration continues to figure prominently in political debates. In Europe, far-right populist parties have used the Migrant Crisis of 2015 and latent fears of immigrants to fuel their rise and introduce increasingly restrictive border policies in countries, like Italy, where they have entered government. The popular backlash against immigrants has also pushed centrist governments to adopt a tougher line on immigration at home, while working with countries of origin and transit to restrict migration, whether through improving border controls or strengthening economic incentives for potential emigres to stay in their home countries.

In some places, the strategy appears to be working—for now. In Europe, asylum applications have dropped back to pre-2015 levels, when a wave of refugees and immigrants arrived on the continent from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa. In the United States, President Donald Trump’s threats to close the border with Mexico appear to be having the opposite effect. The numbers of refugees and migrants have swelled as people attempt to make it into the country before the southern border is possibly sealed off. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is threatening to end aid programs that might actually help keep people in the Central American countries they are fleeing.

Migrants rest on a Mediterranea Saving Humans NGO boat, as they sail off Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa, just outside Italian territorial waters, Thursday, July 4, 2019 (AP photo by Olmo Calvo).

With political debates over migration often dominated by short-term strategies, many of the persistent drivers, including persecution, conflict and war, go unaddressed. The United Nations Refugee Agency recorded 70 million refugees attempting to escape violence or persecution last year—the highest number officials have recorded in nearly 70 years. While global leaders might seek to curb migration by spurring economic growth, they cannot ignore the role of conflict and persecution, which often make asylum seekers unable to return to their home countries. There has also been little global focus on future drivers of migration, including climate change.

Meanwhile, efforts to craft some kind of global consensus on migration are falling victim to the same forces that are demanding quick solutions to a complex issue. Following America’s lead, several countries backed out of the U.N. Global Compact on Migration, which was ratified earlier this year, despite it being only a nonbinding framework to help address some of the key issues surrounding the global migration boom—including how to institute policies that ensure people on the move are treated humanely.

WPR has covered migration in detail and continues to examine key questions about what will happen next. With migration levels falling, will right-wing parties still be able to use the issue for political gain? How will Turkey’s increasingly antagonistic relationship with the EU affect its agreement to block a popular migration route? Will migration dominate the upcoming U.S. presidential election? Below are some of the highlights of WPR’s coverage.