The Use of Migrants in Political Discord

A Reflection on Vilification, Empathy, and the Real Enemy

Written By MrIsh.

I was browsing Neocities recently and stumbled upon a site called Work Without Chains—a resource for migrant worker rights, in Germany I assume. That simple interaction prompted me to reflect on how immigrants are always used and abused, no matter the country, but especially in nations experiencing economic or political flux.

Here in the United States, the current vilification targets undocumented immigrants, with a hostile undertone toward non-white immigrants—particularly Muslims and Middle Easterners. I would hate to be a Palestinian green card holder right now. So let’s break down why this vilification is effective, the reasons behind it in the U.S., and why immigrants receive so little real support. (Even the anti-ICE movement, in my opinion, was less about immigrant rights and more about being anti-Trump.)

Before going further, a crucial distinction: Immigrants vs. Settlers

A settler is an individual or group that uses force to displace and dispossess a local population of their rights, land, and often freedom. Settlers are invaders who take what you own and replace you. Some anti-immigrant movements try to paint immigrants as settlers, but immigrants and migrants hold no power over locals. Their limited rights are granted by the laws of the country they enter. We must acknowledge that immigration can cause real pressures—lowering wages and raising rents for example, but settlers can destroy a society. Immigrants cannot.

Why the Hostility?

The causes are several: economic decay, government and party-induced divide-and-conquer tactics, lack of empathy, and unrealistic expectations (we want docile, “perfect” immigrants).

1. Division as a political tool

Like many other issues, immigrants are repeatedly used to create division in our societies. The narrative goes: they flood the job market, push down wages, and raise rental costs. (Note: well-managed immigration can help develop sparse areas, but that’s rarely the conversation.) Fear tactics around immigrants legitimize voting for parties based on emotional fear—blinding the average voter to real issues like wealth inequality, healthcare, and endless wars.

2. Lack of empathy

Perhaps due to fear of the “othered” class, perhaps due to the nature of our racialized society, immigrants—legal or not, especially non-citizens and the undocumented—are reduced to second-class people.

I live in the Midwest. To my horror, I’ve heard coworkers gleefully describe ICE raids where families were ripped apart and people killed. Fifteen minutes later, the same person talks about going to a Hispanic restaurant for lunch. Othered people—Muslims, Africans, even trans individuals—are in the same boat. Imagine being an African trans person with an Islamic name.

This lack of empathy justifies discrimination and violence at work, school, and public places. You learn to accept lower pay or avoid entire areas of your city. The rest of the public doesn’t care to know this reality—even if you’re not an immigrant, if you have the “wrong” background, you’re still treated as an other.

3. Unrealistic expectations

Migrants, legal or not, must live under an impossible standard of perfection. In 2003, I worked in a rural factory. When a church school shooting dominated the news—and the invasion of Iraq had just begun many of my Iraqi coworkers simply called in sick. The vilification of Muslims was in full swing. But your neighbor or coworker is not responsible for the actions of another person who happens to share the same origin.

Why Solidarity with Immigrants Is Failing

Brainwashed fear of the other

This is best observed in MAGA or conservative segments of society. But let’s separate facts from fear:

• Immigrants do compete for resources. That’s obvious when policies don’t adjust to job demands and economic growth.
• Cultural differences do cause tension.

But the illogical fear of invasion ignores reality: legal immigrants are not settlers taking your property by force.

Undocumented immigrants are breaking the law. and Many countries do enforce this. The crime of coming to work without papers should be treated as such—violators deported according to law. However, the bigger crime belongs to those who profit from this system. I once worked in a factory with around 600 undocumented workers. When an immigration raid happened, rumor said the factory paid a single $15,000 fee.

Let me back this with real numbers. According to CompletePayroll.com, employers may pay between $250 and $5,500 if they claim they “unknowingly” hired undocumented workers. If they knowingly hire them, the fee can be $2,000 to $5,000 per employee. You don’t need to be a genius to see that large factories won’t pay the maximum. The blame for illegal migration belongs at the feet of those making millions. In a meatpacking plant, you might not get a job because of a minor criminal mistake on your record, while an undocumented person can, this is clearly not fair, but we’re not seeing the real criminals here.

Confusing patriotism with white nationalism

Wanting your country to put its interests first is reasonable. But you need a country that puts the interests of all its people first. We see shadowy figures within the MAGA movement—and outside it—whose goal is to destroy any movement that asks for simple equality.

Lack of identifying the real political enemy

It is true that immigrants have always been used to lower wages. From Chinese railroad workers in the 1800s to Hispanic meatpacking workers today, immigrants provide cheap labor and cheap products while affecting the labor market. When the economy turns down, even bad jobs become commodities. And the sons of yesterday’s immigrants are pushed to fight today’s immigrants.

But look at cause and effect. Financial crises are usually the product of greed, government failure, and corruption. In the U.S., our economic problems came from elites pushing financialization, deindustrialization, and globalization—plus corrupt lending, a war economy that ballooned the debt, and a government capture so complete that government no longer knows whom it serves.

In that context, blaming immigrants, migrants, and minorities makes perfect sense to those who benefit. Similar to settlers, we have a multicultural elite class using bought laws and media to sow division, pitting poor people against other desperate people while carving up and plundering national wealth.

The enemy is not the lesser worker. The enemy is the oligarch.