Immigration brings with it a great many benefits to society, as immigrants can be seen to enhance diversity, contribute skills that may be lacking and pay taxes that go into public service provision. However, immigration is not welcomed by all sections of society, because of the perceived drawbacks. Not all immigrants are skilled workers and when jobs are few and far between, ‘native’ inhabitants lower down the social scale may feel that their jobs are being ‘stolen’. Plus, as far as culture goes, not everyone is welcoming of diversity, with some people looking back to a time when society was more homogeneous.

Immigrants have a vital role to play in economic terms. Highly skilled immigrants, such as doctors and engineers, help society to function. However, it is not these types of immigrants that most people have a problem with. It tends to be largely unskilled workers which provoke the most hostility amongst people who work in factories and on farms. Often, immigrants are prepared to work for lower wages and for longer hours, so that native workers are forced to compete with them on unequal terms. They have less chance of being hired, which leads employers to say that immigrants work harder, as if this somehow legitimises their exploitative behaviour.

Of course, this is going to cause resentment amongst working-class natives, since they perceive that they are not being offered jobs that are, instead, going to immigrants. It is not the immigrants’ fault when it is employers and their dealings with recruitment agencies that ensure immigrants are not paid as much as they should be. However, this won’t prevent extremist political groups capitalising on this resentment. People need someone to blame for unemployment, crime and the general dissatisfaction they have in their lives and who better than immigrants?

Even mainstream political parties start to make political capital out of immigration, each stating that they intend to impose tougher restrictions on immigrants and force them to integrate into society. It is much easier to blame a relatively powerless group than it is to criticise employers for exploitative wage practices and the wider economic system for falling wages and lack of jobs.

Often, large-scale immigration provokes a negative reaction from the public, but it doesn’t help when politicians fail to plan ahead and to ensure that local services are given extra resources. This happened in the UK, when politicians underestimated the number of immigrants likely to come from EU accession states. It is much easier for politicians to blame immigrants, though, than to face up to their own responsibilities.

Immigration does bring benefits with it, but not everyone is able to appreciate those benefits. Often it is those higher up the social scale that benefit, as they are able to employ people for less money, whilst those at the bottom end are forced to compete for jobs and homes alongside immigrants who may be reluctant to adapt to their new environment.