LONDON: In the past year, tens of thousands hostile to immigrants marched through London chanting “send them home!” A British lawmaker complained of seeing too many non-white faces on TV. And senior politicians advocated the deportation of longtime UK residents born abroad.
The overt demonization of immigrants and those with immigrant roots is intensifying in the UK — and across Europe — as migration shoots up the political agenda and right-wing parties gain popularity.
In several European countries, political parties that favor mass deportations and depict immigration as a threat to national identity come at or near the top of opinion polls: Reform UK, the Alliance for Germany and France’s National Rally.
President Donald Trump, who recently called Somali immigrants in the US “garbage” and whose national security strategy depicts European countries as threatened by immigration, appears to be endorsing and emboldening Europe’s coarse, anti-immigrant sentiments.
Amid the rising tensions, Europe’s mainstream parties are taking a harder line on migration and at times using divisive language about race.
