“This crisis is just the British version of Trump’s wall” – Liberation

The political reaction to the immigration figures, which are not high, is reminiscent of the actions of populist governments, condemns researcher Tanja Bueltmann.

For Tanja Bueltmann, professor of diaspora and immigration history at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow), Britain has shaped its own crisis by closing legal routes to asylum seekers.

How do you explain the British government’s attitude to refugees?

For many years, the political trend in Britain has been to create an environment hostile to migrants. It’s about being seen as the least welcoming possible, so that people no longer want to come. Even the permanent residency status that Europeans had to apply for after Brexit follows this logic: everyone had to register, especially people who had already been there in