52,799
are being held in detention centers as of the 10th
of September in the USA.
None
have committed a crime, other than choose to enter the USA without
the proper documents. Many are economic migrants seeking a secure
future for themselves and their families, many are asylum seekers
fleeing violence and persecution, many are climate refugees driven
from their farms because of global warming.
The
fear of newcomers is magnified by lies and language. A
recent study found that Americans, as an overall average, think the
foreign-born make up around 37% of the population; in reality, they
are only 13.7%. In other words, in the American imagination, we are
three times as numerous as we are in reality. The French think that
one in three people in their country is Muslim. The actual number is
one
in 13.
British respondents to the poll predicted that 22% of the people will
be Muslim by 2020; the actual projection is 6%. A quarter of the
French, one in five Swedes and one in seven Americans think
immigrants get twice as much in benefits as the native-born. This is
not remotely true in any of these countries. Americans estimate that
a quarter of all immigrants are unemployed; in reality, under 5% are.
What
are people so afraid of? Fear of migrants brings in politicians
votes. Politicians feed on the fear. Fear of migrants brings in
viewers and readers for the media.
Yet
multiple studies have found that people who have direct contact with
immigrants have much more positive views about their work ethic and
reliance on welfare, and are much more open to increased immigration.
Capitalists
have shaped a world where power and wealth are unequally
distributed, and European nations continue to pursue military and
arms trading policies that have caused or contributed to the
conflicts and instability from which many people flee.
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