- Suella Braverman, Britain’s Home Secretary, addressed challenges related to illegal immigration and multiculturalism
- She emphasized the need for controlled immigration, despite being the child of immigrants herself
- Braverman argued that illegal migration is a permanent issue for developed nations, particularly the West
- She advocated for well-planned, long-term legal migration and warned against the negative consequences of uncontrolled immigration and misguided multiculturalism
- Braverman highlighted the impact of uncontrolled immigration on border communities and the need for governments to protect citizens and support legal immigrants in the face of increasing migration due to climate catastrophes and conflicts
Suella Braverman, Britain’s home secretary, recently spoke at the event organized by the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank in Washington, on the challenges presented by illegal immigration and multiculturalism to the First World. For her remarks, the Conservative MP drew fire from many quarters, from the United Nations Refugee Agency to MPs from the opposition party.
Proudly declaring, “I am the child of immigrants, and it’s no betrayal of my parent’s story to say that immigration must be controlled,” the Home Secretary noted, “Illegal migration is not merely an event-driven or cyclical problem. It’s a permanent and structural challenge for the developed nations, in general, and the West, in particular.”
Illegal immigration continues to tremendously impact destination countries, severely eating into their budgets, straining the system, and posing a threat to law and order. According to Ms. Braveman, “A 2021 Gallup poll found that 16 percent of adults worldwide, around 900 million people, would like permanently to leave their own country, and those numbers are not evenly distributed around the world. Thirty-seven percent of people living in sub-Saharan Africa, some 481 million people, and 27 percent of those living in the Middle East and North Africa, around 156 million, say they’d like to migrate.” She further stated that four percent of those, or close to 14 million people, named Britain their preferred destination, and even more, 18 percent, i.e., approximately 162 million people, wanted to come to America.
While countries like America have always welcomed people from all over, a gradual change has occurred among those leaving their homelands behind. The “melting pot” scenario that created vibrant “multicultural” societies has slowly given way to disjointed foreign communities and isolated populations. The Home Secretary pointed out, “…allowed people to come to our society and live parallel lives in it. They could be in the society but not of the society, and in extreme cases, they could pursue lives aimed at undermining the stability and threatening the security of our society. We are living with the consequence of that failure today. You can see it play out in the streets all over Europe, from Malmo to Paris, Brussels to Leicester.”
Making a strong case for well-planned, long-term, legal migration, Ms. Braveman said, “Something that is all too often forgotten, integration inevitably takes time. If immigration is uncontrolled, it makes it harder for society to adapt and accommodate new cultures and customs and for communities to meld together. Uncontrolled immigration, inadequate integration, and a misguided dogma of multiculturalism have proven a toxic combination for Europe over the last few decades.”
The British Home Secretary’s opinions should not have shocked many as former German Chancellor Angela Markel, former British Prime Minister David Cameron, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have also expressed similar views regarding the failure of multiculturalism.
Uncontrolled immigration has changed the fabric of many border communities. Besides, illegal immigrants are those people who enter through the cracks in the borders and fall through the cracks in the system. The number of illegal immigrants in the country at any given time is just an approximation, as many of them are not on the records of any institutions. Their “invisibility” makes them fall prey to human trafficking, prostitution, and other nefarious exploitative schemes.
Warning that climate catastrophes, wars, and political instability are only going to push more people out of their native country in search of a brighter future, the illegal migrant crisis is only going to get worse unless governments act with a clear vision to protect citizens and support legal immigrants.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics And Geoeconomics
1. Biden Says U.S. ‘Will Not Walk Away’ From Ukraine Amid Budget Turmoil – Al Jazeera
President Joe Biden says aid to Ukraine will keep flowing for now as he seeks to reassure allies of continued support for the war effort.
But time is running out, the president said on Sunday in a warning to Congress, which has voted to avert a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding package that dropped assistance for Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
“We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said.
2. ‘Historic’ Meeting Of EU Foreign Ministers In Kyiv – Euronews
The foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) have arrived in Kyiv for the first meeting of the 27 member states ever held outside the EU.
The meeting wasn’t announced until the last moment for security reasons.
3. Russia Is ‘Preparing For Multiple Further Years Of Fighting’ In Ukraine: Uk Intel – Al Arabiya
“Documents, apparently leaked from Russia’s Finance Ministry, suggest that Russia’s defense spending is set to surge to approximately 30 percent of total public expenditure in 2024,” the British Ministry of Defense said in its war update.
It added: “It is highly likely that Russia can support this level of defense spending through 2024, but only at the expense of the wider economy.”
4. Japan Puts The Brakes On Lucrative Used-Car Trade With Russia – Reuters
In early August, Japan’s government banned exports of all but subcompact cars to Russia, cutting off a lucrative backchannel in trade.
Russia’s demand for second-hand cars from Japan jumped sharply after global automakers, including Toyota, pulled back from operations following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
While wiping out Russia’s biggest source of used cars, the sanctions have driven down prices for second-hand cars in Japan and left brokers scrambling to send vehicles to other regions, especially right-hand drive markets in New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
5. World Bank Cuts China’s 2024 Growth Amid Property Crisis – Nikkei Asia
China’s gross domestic product growth is now pegged at 4.4% for 2024, down from the 4.8% figure the institution forecast in April.
These figures were carried out in a World Bank report, warning that a “growth shock” coming from the region’s largest trading partners — China and the U.S. — would impact Asian economies through bilateral trade and financial flows.
6. UK Signs £4 Billion Deal For Nuclear-Powered Submarine Project To Counter China – AFP
Britain has signed contracts worth 4 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) to finance a new phase of the SSN-AUKUS next-generation attack submarine project.
AUKUS leaders unveiled the joint submarine project last March in a deal that will see Australia replace its diesel-powered submarines with nuclear-powered ones with far greater stealth and range.
The plan involves Australia purchasing U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and building a new model with U.S. and British technology.
7. China Belt And Road: Indonesia Opens Whoosh High-Speed Railway – BBC
Indonesia has inaugurated its first high-speed railway, a $7.3bn project backed by China under its Belt and Road Initiative.
The railway is named Whoosh, a Bahasa Indonesia acronym that translates to time-saving and reliable. Some critics say the sheer cost of the project may weigh on Indonesia’s public finances, which are already strained by the pandemic.
8. Can The India-Europe Corridor Rival China’s Belt And Road? – BBC
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is being seen by many as a U.S. counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Despite the hiccups, the Chinese have achieved a “staggering amount,” and IMEC isn’t even close to being a “rival,” says Parag Khanna, author of Connectography, adding that it can, at best, be a moderate volume corridor.
9. Why A U.S. Recession Is Still Likely – And Coming Soon – Bloomberg
A major auto strike, the resumption of student loan repayments, and a shutdown that may come back after the stop-gap spending deal lapses could easily shave a percentage point off GDP growth in the fourth quarter.
Add those shocks to other powerful forces at work on the economy – from dwindling pandemic savings to soaring interest rates and oil prices too – and the combined impact could be enough to tip the U.S. into a downturn as early as this year.
10. Turkey Strikes Kurdish Targets In Iraq Following Terrorist Attack In Ankara – UPI
Turkish warplanes conducted retaliatory air strikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq following a suicide attack in the capital Ankara, officials said.
The strikes came nearly 12 hours after a suicide bomber drove up to the entrance of the Ministry of Interior in Ankara and detonated an explosive device. A second terrorist was “neutralized” at the scene by responding security forces, the ministry said in a statement.
11. North Korea Slams UN Nuclear Agency As U.S. Mouthpiece Over Nuclear Programmes – NDTV
North Korea denounced the UN atomic watchdog for joining a U.S.-led pressure campaign and “cooking up” a resolution over its nuclear programs, calling the agency a “paid trumpeter” for Washington.
The spokesman also accused IAEA chief Rafael Grossi of “taking the lead in creating the atmosphere of pressurizing the DPRK” by “spreading a false story” about an imminent nuclear test.
Grossi warned last year that the reclusive country could resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017.
12. EU Launches World’s First Carbon Border Tax To Bolster Green Transition – WION
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is designed to safeguard the EU’s commitment to sustainability by preventing the influx of environmentally detrimental foreign products that could jeopardize its green transition.
During this first phase, EU importers must report the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing imported commodities, such as iron and steel, aluminum, cement, electricity, fertilizers, and hydrogen.
Starting in 2026, importers must purchase certificates to offset these CO2 emissions.
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Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
