Is media hype stoking hostility towards immigrants?
The immigration debate currently dominating global politics is becoming ever-more present in the media, sparking concern that empirical facts are being overshadowed by emotive hype.
The BBC’s two-part television documentary Nick and Margaret: Too Many Immigrants? hit the UK’s screens this month, which sought to weigh up the “gains” and “drains” that immigration brings to a country.
Native Brits were interviewed expressing their frustrations over immigrants stealing employment and housing opportunities. One interviewee voiced his disappointment over what he considered to be poor service provided by immigrant workers.
The show was not completely one-sided; the Independent’s TV critic Ellen E. Jones commented that the UK-based immigrants were portrayed as “hard-working and driven.”
Nevertheless, with this focus on isolated anecdotes as opposed to objective data, one must call the reliability of these programs into question.
A growing hostility towards foreign inhabitants is certainly discernible. The UK Independence Party's (UKIP's) success in May’s European elections demonstrates a shift in the national consensus towards the political right.
However, there are no facts to back up concerns that immigrants take jobs from native workers. Amelie F. Constant finds that the positive effects of immigration far outweigh its negative impact. Giovanni Peri discusses how immigrant workers can boost productivity and wages, and Murat Genç analyzes how migration can have hugely positive impacts on international trade.
Similarly, Corrado Giulietti’s findings suggest that immigrants in many countries exhibit less welfare dependency than natives.
Despite this, migrants are still facing overwhelming amounts of negative press. The UK’s Channel 4 recently announced it was producing a documentary series entitled Immigration Street, to run as a spin-off to its documentary series Benefits Street. This series received over 900 complaints for its portrayal of benefits claimants, so we can only brace ourselves for the depiction of migrants that will likely be broadcast.
It is important to consider whether the immigration fears clouding the public consciousness are founded on hysteria or objective fact.
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Related articles:
Do migrants take the jobs of native workers? by Amelie F. Constant
Do immigrant workers depress the wages of native workers? by Giovanni Peri
The impact of migration on trade, by Murat Genç
The welfare magnet hypothesis and welfare take-up of migrants, by Corrado Giulietti