Migration and Deportation

Recent developments have put the issues of migration and deportation into sharp relief.

Mass demonstrations across the world against the Israeli war on Hamas in Gaza have underscored for many the dangers of immigrants bringing their prejudices to distant shores.   

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marching with swastika and ISIS flags have underscored the degree to which hatred and disinformation have spread and how the West has been infiltrated by those who would destroy democracy and pluralism.

Saudi Arabia has successfully exported Wahabi imams around the world over the years, each bringing to audiences in the West hatred of Western culture with a vision of an austere and retrograde Islamic reality. They have attracted thousands of disaffected Muslim and Christian youths anxious to strike out at the powers that be.  

Sadly, Western governments have tolerated this expansion of a philosophy of hatred both from a mismanaged philosophy of multi-cultural tolerance and due to the Saudis’ power as a major source of investment and oil.

Today, this problem has come home to roost, and the West is paying a heavy price.

Many of the demonstrators appeared to be irrational in their condemnation. Women’s groups behave as if ignorant of the status of women in Muslim states and in Gaza. LGBTQ groups are seemingly oblivious to the fact that they would be imprisoned or executed for their lifestyle in Gaza and many Muslim countries. The ignorance on display is frankly astounding.

These demonstrations have played right into Russian hands. 

President Putin´s goal to destroy the West and its institutions is in concert with Hamas and Hezbollah as underscored by the visits of senior Hamas leaders to Moscow in the days leading up to their barbaric terrorist attack on October 7th.

Across the United States and Canada, university students marched in favor of Hamas and violated the rights and safety of Jewish students, businesses, and institutions. Many of the participants were recent immigrants to Canada and the United States, joined by traditional antisemitic elements from the left. They called for the disappearance of Israel and in many cases the elimination of all Jews.

Canadian and U.S. authorities appeared to be caught between defending Jewish lives and institutions and appearing to equate antisemitism with Islamophobia. Much criticism has been lobbied against the government of Justin Trudeau for trying to protect his government’s desire for Muslim votes.

In addition, the antisemitic and equivocating behaviour of student groups at prestigious U.S. and Canadian universities coupled with the weak response from university and political leadership has resulted in their losing their financial support from key donors.

In Europe, similar demonstrations have taken place however European governments have taken a much stronger position against these outbreaks of violent antisemitism.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the deportation of demonstrators who are not French citizens. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck spoke out emphatically against antisemitism in Germany and the escalation in hate crimes since the Israel-Hamas war began. 

In a video posted online, the Green Party politician defended Israel's security as an integral part of Germany's own existence as a nation, adding that Germany's responsibility for the Holocaust meant it was essential that Jews should be able to live "freely and safely in Germany, that they never have to be afraid again to show their religion, their culture; but this exact fear is now back."

Contrast this with the British reaction, where Britons were asked not to unfurl the Union Jack at counter demonstrations while police took no action against pro-Palestinian demonstrators from marching with swastikas and ISIS flags.

Many are equating the outbreaks of violence in the West with the unrestricted migration of hundreds of thousands of unvetted Muslim refugees into Europe from North Africa and the Middle East. 

Indeed, European Union immigration policies, long criticized by the extreme right, are now being questioned by many in the mainstream.

Can the EU, Canada, and the U.S. allow unvetted refugees and migrants to enter their jurisdictions without knowing who they are and whether they can successfully integrate into European and North American society?

The time has come for a rational discussion in many countries about the process of selecting immigrants and ensuring that that they integrate into domestic societies and adopt their values while providing them with an environment in which they can feel at home and prosper while obtaining a commitment to leave behind the hatreds and prejudices of their former homelands.

Absent this, the West will continue to house a fifth column in its fight against radical Islam and its ability to weaken Western institutions and society.

[email protected]

Keep reading: Cordoba II

Edición: Fernando Sierra