2023-6 – The Fallacy of Closing Borders: Why Europe Cannot Afford to Get Immigration Wrong – Again

Ethnic tensions are escalating throughout Europe, heightened by a series of terrorist acts perpetrated by Muslim immigrants. At the same time, criminal activities involving immigrants have caught significant media attention. In response, there is a growing demand for more restrictive immigration rules and tougher border management. Calls like “We’ve been too lenient with immigration” or “We must change our policy due to the risks posed by immigration” are increasingly heard. Such sentiment is hardly new, however. It has pervaded European discourse for decades. In blindly adhering to this view, Europe is today further sleepwalking into a potentially catastrophic ethnic conflict.