Immigration has become a toxic subject. In the United States, President Donald Trump is trying to ban or block the entry of refugees and of people from Mexico and parts of the Middle East. Other nations, from the United Kingdom, France and Germany to Australia and Thailand, face political pressure to curb numbers of incomers.
Anger at the erosion of national competitiveness is the root of the rage in the United States, in my view. Increasing financial inequity, changing racial and ethnic demographics and a widening knowledge gap between technology haves and have-nots are other factors. Immigrants and global trade have become the scapegoats.
