What is it that riles people up about immigration so much?

Because people have been manipulated to believe that immigration and immigrants are the cause of their problems, and that their own lives would be much better if only we had fewer of them, or perhaps none of them.

Of course, reducing immigration wouldn't actually solve anything for these people, and in many cases, it might make things worse. However, when you're angry about your life, it can be helpful to have someone to blame, and hating immigrants is a convenient way for people to channel their negative emotions. Also, it gives them the hope of simple solutions to complex problems... it's probably quite comforting to believe that everything would get better if only the government could get a grip on one single issue.

This sums it up for me! I'm actually quite worried for the future of this country.

It's lack of integration that concerns me. Not so much who they are or where from. Though I admit I'd prefer to see women and children from war torn countries than single men.
I grew up in an area which saw a big influx of immigration in the post war years from Poland, Ukraine and the Carribbean. Later the Ugandans who were expelled. Still friends with many of them now. All embraced the British way of life and blended in.
The thing about immigration now is people living in enclaves of their old country.

Totally agree op.

Racism and ignorance, encouraged by right-wing media so that we don't look at the real reasons for the economic problems in our country - the 5th richest in the world. This idea of we can't afford it is nonsense - 73% of the worlds refugees and displaced people are in low and middle income countries.
Money for asylum seekers in the UK, hotels etc, comes out of the foreign aid budget (which in itself is only 0.58% of GDP) so having no asylum seekers wouldn't increase money spent domestically.
Half of any refugee population are women and children; but the trip to Europe is so incredibly risky that the men try it rather than risk the lives of their families. And you can see why - the majority of deaths on the trip are of women and children. Can you imagine how risky it would be for an unaccompanied woman to attempt it?
The UK take in only a tiny fraction of the world's refugees - they are less than 1% of our population. If they were processed with any kind of efficiency - France processes applications at 7 times the rate we do - they would make an economic contribution. If the ban on working here was lifted it is estimated that the UK would gain £333 million.

Easy to blame immigrants rather than look at their own failings is definitely one reason. The level of entitlement from people I meet every single day astounds me, the rudeness and lack of respect for others and the local area is shocking.

Given the fiasco that was Brexit I think it's safe to say that a lot of people don't want any immigration at all, from absolutely anywhere. So we now see a shortage of carers, nurses, doctors, and other really important jobs that have classically been filled by people coming from other countries.

It's all very short sighted but social media has a lot to answer for and people only believe what they read on the likes of Facebook because they are too stupid to look beyond it. Story of the country for about ten years now. Of course the demise of this country is absolutely nothing to do with the British people who live here. It's all them immigrants fault innit.

For what it's worth, I love very close to an immigrant hotel. It's been like that since the start of lockdown. It irks me watching them going out to work every day, but the problem is the employers giving them jobs, not them. They cause far less trouble (i.e. none) whereas those born and bred here cause no end of problems from drug dealing, to stabbings, gun crime, hit and runs, tearing around on bikes and quads, theft and burglary, damaging people's property, the list goes on and on.

Because they think the asylum seekers and other immigrants are getting something they aren't. They have fallen for the distraction techniques of the ultra wealthy who don't want to pay more themselves.

It's a tale as old as time, divide and conquer. The richest will continue to get richer while the less well off are fighting amongst themselves.

As an immigrant (who came to live in UK through "regular" routes): I note a huge streak of xenophobia in British culture.

Guy told me he voted 4 Brexit because he thought the town where he grew up changed too much because of immigrants. He openly says he just doesn't like the "foreignness" of the not British born. He is uncomfortable with their culture, accents, shops, obvious not white Englishness. At least he's honest.

The main reason the Uk has grown in population size so much in recent decades is that old people don't die like they used to, they live a lot longer than they did before. Oldies also need 'more' of many specific public services. There's no hate on the old people for daring to live so long. So don't say the anti-immigrant sentiment is about unfair use of scarce 'resources'. It's "foreigners" using resources that is objected to. <shrug>

If you’re asking this question then it means your privilege makes you totally ignorant of what is happening in whole towns, cities and swathes of disadvantaged areas of this country. Immigration is a positive but it should be sustainably and strategically assimilated, it’s as simple as that. And what is currently happening is the exact opposite. People are right to protest.

I am.usually on the side of immigration. I'm a British citizen but wasn't born in Europe myself (though my parents were both British and Irish citizens).

However, I do think there are some voices on the left who are being a bit disingenuous when they say they can't see any problem with asylum hotels. I can see that they might be the best or only option, but I can also see how they might not be a welcome addition if one opened up in my street for example. It's less to do with their nationality and more to do with large groups of young men suddenly sharing a relatively small space. I wouldn't be overjoyed with that even if the men in question were from Ireland or my birth country or...I dunno, Newcastle upon Tyne or something. It would definitely change the demographic.

But I do think some of the protesters are just disgusting.

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Cultural differences to basic British norms.
Adding close to a million people a year to a small country.
DEI initiatives that exclude white people.
Islamic terrorism growth.
Growth of sectarianism in politics (we will see Islamic political parties over the next 2 years).
Ethnic sectarianism at community level.
No electorate permission for mass immigration.
Identity politics paralysing any political decisions.
Increased pressure on housing, education, schools etc.
Fiscal strain of third world immigration.
Crime.
Reducing FDI

The far right are using immigrants as a scape goat just as politicians told people especially the north that Eastern Europeans were to blame for the decline for life in the uk.

Its really depressing and the racism is imo getting worse I've felt it a lot more recently as a Black woman

I dont think it's racist to be concerned about large influxes of young men, and it is mostly men, entering the country and being accommodated in hotels at the expense of the taxpayer. We have no idea where many of these people have come from, or how many may be members of terrorist organisations.They need to held in detention centres and not allowed to "disappear"

Fear, most of it unfounded.

Because the volume of people currently arriving exceeds the resources that are available to support our population.

Lots of services that have been struggling for decades (housing, health etc) are not going to be improved by having a larger population to serve. This is without factoring in whether the influx of people are bringing much needed skills and paying tax or are unskilled and a net drain.

We’re a small island with a finite land mass. In the event of war or natural disaster we’d be unlikely to be able to feed the population. In times of peace we still don’t have enough space and resources to house them or maintain the quality of services and support that everyone should have a right to access.

Knowing these things and watching the population grow by the size of a small city every year makes people understandably worried and upset. When those worries are ignored, it transmutes to anger and resentment, and that in turn is easily stirred up by bad actors.

As others have said, if you can’t see the things that are making people concerned then I’d guess you’re living a life which is in some way comfortably insulated from these issues.

I don’t think it’s fear.

Most people want a peaceful life to raise their families, work and enjoy the things they enjoy.

However, it is not sustainable for keenloading the system with people - nor is it cost effective when these working age men are not allowed to work. They hand round in gangs - and what happens to bored people? They either eager exploited and wok on the black market or they get into trouble.

They aren’t making a contribution (because they aren’t allowed)

They are poor, because they can’t work and there’s no family support - the feeling of equity must sting.

I feel we’ve learnt nothing from history.

@Owlcat42 is correct we are being shafted by the rich & because they are hidden away people can’t see what they are taking from us.

I think it's basically an underlying fear of competition for resources and ultimately security/survival.

It's a primal fear throughout human history. Newcomers appear and the first fear is whether they're going to attack you or not. If they're not aggressive, the two peoples can co-exist ok, as long as resources aren't scarse. But if an imbalance of power develops, it can lead to fighting. Think of native Americans and the early pilgrims - co-existed for a while but waves of high migration from Europe overwhelmed the continent and the native peoples were persecuted and became oppressed minorities.

Even though we're living in a modern society, that fear is still there.

Because they aren’t lucky enough to have NHS doctor or dentist, decent school place, spare money at the end of the month. In some cases they can’t afford to put the heating on & can’t afford a decent diet. They see people arriving & getting all those things put in place. Lots of people can’t afford a night away at a Holiday Inn. If you’re not affected then you are privileged. I’m lucky enough to not be affected but can empathise with those in areas where life is harder & where they have had an influx. I think the other issue is it’s all young men & people would be more inclined to be sympathetic towards older people, women & children.

There's a scrabble for resources: cost of living has gone through the roof, a lot of people feel poorer than they were a few years ago, the NHS, social services etc are hugely stretched and resources are thin on the ground...then you've got right-wing politicians and the press constantly telling people that migrants are being put up in hotels, having money spent on them.

Actually the real problem in the UK is not some desperate people/criminal chancers depending on your viewpoint coming over here via illegal routes, it's the awful inequality - the very richest in society creaming off profits from our utilities, healthcare system etc, while telling people illegal migration is the issue - plus huge corporations dodging taxes, and the fact that overseas governments and corporations buy up UK resources (like train lines and energy companies in order to profit from them, ploughing those profits back into their own countries and businesses.

There are so many different reasons why different groups of people are against/concerned by immigration levels. It's far too simplistic to ask what is THE reason as if there is one, simple, obvious answer.

Some people are just racist. Simple as that.

Some people are losing the use of local hotels/spaces as they're closed to accommodate large numbers of (mostly male) migrants.

Some people are desperately waiting for housing or NHS treatment or educational support for their children or help back into work and don't need more people to be added to that waiting list, sometimes infront of them because they have greater needs.

Some people are having their benefits cut or local libraries/community centres closed or their roads falling into disrepair because of budget cuts. They don't feel we have the finances to support big numbers of people in need.

Some people are worried or even scared as the culture of their local area changes, as they become a minority in their own towns and cities.

Some people are worried about the impact of large numbers of people (mostly men) from countries with horrendous attitudes towards women coming to live here.

Reasons are many and varied.

Resources, resources, resources. When everyone feels like they can access housing, healthcare, good education and good employment prospects then sentiment towards immigration improves. Lack of resource then sentiment becomes negative. First people impacted by lack of resources are the working class and the poor. Money buys you resources that the poorer people cannot afford.

What are you on about 'taking a staycation'? I used to swim daily in the small, quiet pool at my local 3* hotel for a cheap monthly membership, until it was overrun by far too many groups of men, who had nowhere to spend their time.

So I moved to one further from my house, in the opposite direction, paying significantly more, for it to be closed to members, to accommodate more people who need to live there.

Honestly, given a choice, I wouldn't have given up the one thing I do for myself, because the government hasn't got a better plan after offering to help.

Sometimes minor inconvenience has to be expected when people's safety must come first, but when there are concerns about services being cut or access being spread too thinly, it isn't hateful to acknowledge the standards you're accustomed to (or in many cases, with health or education, are entitled to) are not being met.

Getting a visa and coming over to work, contribute and integrate, I have no problem with.

Escaping a war torn country, I have no problem with (although, do question why England when they reach other countries first)

But coming over in boats, without the appropriate documentation and funding criminal gangs is a no. We get huge numbers of Albanian men here, last I checked Albania hasn't been at war since the 50s. If they want to emigrate, fine, do it the right way.

I work in social housing so I know the pressure the social housing resource is under. Bring in 1000s of people, who may or may not eventually be given right to remain and thereby become entitled to social housing is making the waiting lists extremely long. Especially in places like London and the South East.