Populist anti-migrant dog whistle politics is the order of business in 2025.
The new Immigration White Paper entitled ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’ creates huge uncertainty for many migrants. It clearly demonstrates the Government’s intention is to make migrants’ lives even more miserable.
The main premise of the White Paper itself is flawed with the claim that the UK has open borders. It doesn’t. This is disingenuous framing when there are more rules and controls than ever. These proposals will simply make the immigration system more complex, restrictive and expensive. Over the last few years, migrants including international students, care workers and sponsored workers have been at the sharpest end of the Hostile Environment with constant changes to the conditions attached to their visas. These include restrictions on bringing dependents, or changes to income thresholds.
The persistent fixation on net migration figures is a political distraction technique that has devastating consequences for migrant communities. The plan will exacerbate growing anti-migrant racism in a futile attempt to appease right-wing factions, like Reform UK, who have been very open about the fact they want “zero immigration”. So, any measure to try and appeal to anti-migrant rhetoric will ultimately fall flat.
The Government must stop playing political games at the expense of migrants.
We will be releasing a more detailed deep-dive into the White Paper shortly. To see how we’re challenging the Government on immigration, check out our Hostile Office campaign.