(2) Class, mobility and migration

What was the number of people arriving to the UK according to the ONS? What percentage has this decreased by compared to previous years?

• 898,000

• Down 12%

According to the ONS data, how many asylum claims were there? How has this percentage decreased compared to previous years?

• Approx. 100,000

• Down 4%

According to the Red Cross (2024), what percentage of the world’s refugees were in the UK?

About 1%

What is instilled into migration categories?

Assumptions about class and race

What language is often used for Westerners in comparison to asylum seekers?

Expat vs immigrant

What assumptions are involved for expats vs migrants?

• Assumptions about motivations for migration, i.e. choice vs necessity

• Assumptions about post-migration lives, e.g. work an

How do political discussions about migration have class connotations?

• Often seen as low-skilled, poor, uneducated

• Eastern Europeans often have an assumption of economic necessity due to agricultural/hospitality jobs

How is the term Expatriate used by Western migrants?

• Distinguish between themselves and other migrants

• Distinguishes between ‘good’ (expats) and problematic (migrants)

What did Cranston’s (2017) work on British expats in Singapore find?

Consider themselves ‘good migrants’ - skilled, economically valuable, often temporary

What is Tudor’s (2018) concept of ‘migratisation’?

Racialised citizens, i.e. non-white/non-Christian, are often assumed to be migrants even if they aren’t

What were Oommen’s (2021) findings on how society views non-white migrants? What is the impact of this?

• Considered low-skill or poor even if they are not

• More likely to experience institutional racism

What is the impact of ‘migratisation’/racialisation of migrants?

Leads to discrimination

What did Vasey (2017) find about Eastern European migrants?

More likely to experience ‘deskilling’ despite being graduates

What does migrant categories create?

Homogenous ‘groups’, even though migrants are diverse

How does Bourdieu’s concept of capital link to migrants?

Some countries ‘symbolic capital’ which is attached to the migrant

What is the result of placing ‘symbolic capital’ onto migrants?

• Creates a classification system

• Often based on prejudice and stereotypes, which homogenises groups

What is the ‘hierarchies of desirability’ (Beck et al, 2012)?

• Britain cannot return to monoculture, so established hierarchy of belongings

• Construction of immigrants - white and western often seen as unproblematic

• Other migrants constructed as a threat - justifies surveillance

According to Wimmer and Schiller (2003), how is migration as a cultural issue a form of ‘methodological nationalism’?

• Assumes the nation is the most relevant analytical angle to understand migration

• The immigrant as a social problem is seen as an outsider entering a nation viewed as ‘culturally homogenous’

• Central to anti-immigration stigma

What is an alternative to anti-immigration notions according to Gilroy’s ‘The Black Atlantic’?

Culture is not bounded by nations, but can only be understood transnationally, i.e. movement of ideas, culture, politics etc. across continents

What assumptions are commonly used against migrants that creates the ‘us vs them’ narrative (Fox et al, 2012)?

• Migrants use services reserved to nationals, e.g. schools and hospitals

• ‘Steal’ jobs that would be taken by nationals

How does Cohen’s (1972) theory of moral panics link to immigration as an economic problem?

• ‘Too many’ argument calls for crackdowns, e.g. mass deportations

• Simplifies economy, which is often a structural or systemic issue

• Immigrants are often considered a burden to the state budget

What is the evidence for local level immigration vs immigration on a national level?

• Mainly beneficial on a national level

• Causes short-term strains at local level

How is immigration used as political rhetoric/’political football’?

• Often used by populist right-wing voters

• Serves to give a ‘legitimate’ voice in politics by exploiting stereotypes and prejudice

What are prominent examples of politicians using immigrations as a political tactic?

• Enoch Powell Rivers of Blood speech (1968)

• Kier Starmer ‘we risk becoming an island of strangers’ (2025)

What was involved in Theresa May’s ‘Hostile Environment’?

• 2012 - Policy which cut undocumented migrants off from using fundamental services and right to rent property

• Public sector workers responsible for immigrant checks

• Vans paraded through streets telling immigrants to “go home or face arrest”

How did the Hostile Environment policy impact the Windrush Generation?

• Had the right to live in the UK, but had no documents to prove this

• Subject to racial profiling

How does the media impact how society views migration (and class)?

• Create symbolic borders on who looks like a ‘legitimate’ refugee

• For example ‘iPhone men’ are not considered real refugees

• Refugees have to prove their vulnerability - deserving vs undeserving refugees

What did Boltanski (1991) find about distant suffering?

Audiences encounter/experience suffering of others from a distance, which may be geographically or emotionally

In what ways do the media frame migration that deindividualises migrants?

Through statistics, aerial shots of large groups, or through language