The state of immigration.
Why, after years of what I would call more or less benign neglect, has there suddenly been a moral panic about immigration just now?
Theories:
- ISIS just isn't cutting it as a foreign enemy. Sure, they're awful, but it's obvious they can't hurt us.
- (Provocative, but) open borders advocates are sparking a backlash.
- It's Trump's issue, and he's driving it by force of personality.
- Cognitive dissonance: The very facts that (a) immigration is in steep decline, and (b) Trump has taken deportations to new levels, represent a disconfirmed prophecy. Those who held to it now must become more fervent and proselytize more.
- As economic uncertainty increases, so will the scapegoating of immigrants who are believed to be taking jobs from a fixed supply thereof.
hmm.. I thought the topic was in the news since quite a while.