Immigration Debate: Fuelled by Fear and Political Moves

With the elections approaching, different political parties are making different moves to make their stand on the issue of immigration. Fear seems to have taken a permanent place in the minds of the immigrants.

You must be wondering why is the fear about immigration being created or experienced. What is it that creates this politics of fear? There are various reasons to this. One is that various local and regional political leaders have come up with their own stances on the issue of immigration to prove the worth of their party. In the process, they are having a tough field day and end up only challenging the opposition's stance on immigration to prove that the stand they have taken on the issue is much tougher.

Secondly, the politics of fear is not only aggravated by the speeches of these political players, but it is also affected by the mass media news and reports depicting events and incidences of stressing fear in the city or nation. All this only heightens to politics of fear and promotes the thoughts in the mind of citizens helping political parties to establish their political agendas.

The outburst of news reports and public display of various presentations showing a threat to our personal and family lives play a major role in creating political fear. To exemplify, if you look at the recent war of US with Iraq, you can easily get an idea about how simple propaganda about a war can play with the emotions of the people and can brew up fear and insecurity in the mind of immigrants. Recent emerging issues and commotion about immigration, especially in the Southwest borders of US, add to the fear of politics. The south west border of US has always been leaky have been leaky for ages. Immigration is quite common over there with people adopting each others culture, religion, and belief and enjoying a new cultural blend by the way of marriages, tourism, education or politics. However, with political wars taking place, immigrants to get to hear that heritage of a country can be preserved and a country can be protected from terrorism only by stopping in the invasion of people from different geographical borders.

The politics of fear gets air when it is followed by some dramatic announcements from the country leaders or politicians. This is nothing but just an act of obtaining media coverage and publicity. The leaders even go to the extent of talking about change of laws and rules related to immigration. This rolls fear over the minds of people who have just got the required stability in the country.

Fear is quite disturbing for anybody’s social life. Immigration debate can always play a role in aggravating the existing fear. This happens because of many reasons including:
- The immigrants are in minority
- They lack the political power
- There might be differences and issues related to color, sex or language that might add on to the fear.

Thus, knowing the implications of fear on one’s mind and lives, we can only wait and hope to see positive moves by state on issues related to immigration and for settlement of political fears.