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

[Am99]

I’m really curious at why some people get so annoyed over immigrants. Sure, I’m all for LEGAL migration no matter where the immigrant comes from and I agree that migration should be controlled / monitored to ensure criminals aren’t entering without a solid work purpose. My maternal grandparents were from Jamaica and they worked so hard.

I’m always so happy to see any doctor / nurse in the NHS whether they’re Indian, African, Caribbean, English and I couldn’t ever imagine getting so upset and angry about their ethnicity. I also don’t understand why people get so angry about asylum seekers being temporarily housed in hotels whilst they await their decision

Why are people so annoyed about migrants being housed in hotels? How can they actually be affected by it? On the news it looks like they’re being accommodated at Holiday Inns, not exactly anywhere where the typical Brit would take a staycation. It’s pretty mundane and boring. It’s not The Ritz.

I work, pay my taxes but it doesn’t bother me in the slightest if my tax goes towards that because tax is inevitable and something we never see. It’s just so unavoidable so why complain? I guess it’s like my student loan. Equally, how come these people aren’t annoyed that our taxes can fund royal house renovations or their security etc… I don’t see people protesting outside Buckingham palace? Also what about council housing in the UK? I don’t see people protesting about the fact the council literally gives subsidised housing to brits because they can’t afford it? I’m not sure if the tax payers money go towards this (I might need to educate myself on it) but surely that’s a bigger burden on taxpayers money.

I understand the argument that a country might lose its ‘identity’ with mass immigration. I saw a video with someone saying Japan is Japan because it’s more enough wholly Japanese. India is India because it’s wholly Indian. I get it to some extent, maybe we aren’t typically white and British like we were 59 years ago; but it’s still not enough to convince me that immigration is negative because what would actually happen if we did take all of the ‘foreigners’ outside of the NHS, TFL, cleaners etc etc … I wonder if they’d be enough Brits to fill their spaces? This isn’t sarcastic, I’m curious if anyone knows the answer

They are racist and xenophobic and they are fed lies about "taking all our jobs and houses", "filling up the schools" and "the men are all rapists". They see what they want to see in the news and don't want to hear about jobs being hard to fill, nobody wanting to live in older housing, school rolls falling and most rapists being White.

You've asked a genuine question OP and so I'm giving a genuine answer. These concerns are not specific to Britain (or indeed to white people). I can guarantee that the indigenous populations of Jamaica, India or Poland would not be jumping for joy about thousands of foreigners being financed by the Government to live in hotels or HMO's. There would be discord, at the very least. I would also say that if the vast majority of those foreigners were single young men with no background/criminality checks or proof of identity, then the situation would be exacerbated ten fold.

I think lots of people are in favour of managed legal migration. They are not in favour of uncontrolled illegals immigration of mostly young men where we are adding the population of Cardiff to the UK every year.

people care about hotels being taken over because sometimes it’s the only local hotel and where they’ve had weddings and anniversaries and they don’t want it to no longer be available to the community. Sometimes it’s because they see homelessness massively increasing and can’t understand why illegal immigrants are being housed and British people aren’t. Sometimes they have reservations about large numbers of men from countries where women are second class citizens being in the community where it might be a risk to women and girls. I come from that part of the world and share those reservations/concerns.

Also British people have a right to protect British values and traditions. I say that as an immigrant myself.

The best thing that described this was the lack of resources.

Fine a poor area, and then flood it with working males.

Suddenly the population are fighting over housing, school places doctors dentists and every other service.

Now the middle class area up the road isn’t feeling the same pressure - the migrants aren’t taking middle management roles, they have private doctors and dentists, they have mortgage and know their neighbours. Nothing has changed.

1000 people arrived on boat yesterday - they are sent straight to hotels, when our elderly don’t have hearing - there’s over crowding and homelessness - some people are starving and can’t find jobs

If your aren’t affected you must be privileged

“I work, pay my taxes but it doesn’t bother me in the slightest if my tax goes towards that because tax is inevitable and something we never see. It’s just so unavoidable so why complain? I guess it’s like my student loan.”

This is a bit of a simplistic take really.

It is inevitable people will look at eg local service cuts, that they can’t get a hospital appointment, that there’s no council housing - and then query why a few billion is going on housing asylum seekers in hotels.

The government has to provide some solution to the issue - but it’s not really surprising people are a bit ‘?’ about the migrant housing situation. So many Brits are housed terribly (or not at all).

As well as the above ( although I doubt this is a concern for racists) many of these people are trafficked. They have to pay back the fare to people smugglers somehow, and they do it by working illegally, often being forced into prostitution and the drug trade. British people need to be doing a bit more due diligence when they are getting their nails done, their cars washed, their deliveroos to bring round a can of Coke, or getting their local dealer to deliver their weekend dinner party Cocaine and weed, and when they use prostitutes. Because that's what happens to many ' boat people'.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

@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 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.

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.

Fear, most of it unfounded.

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"

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

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

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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.

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.

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>

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.