Bees against honey. Why many former migrants oppose new waves of migration

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From the first days after his re-election as US President, Donald Trump has been waging a fierce campaign against migrants. One of its victims in August 2025 was the former press secretary of the Libertarian Party of Russia, Alexander Good, who was himself a staunch supporter of deportations, who sought asylum in the United States. He was almost deported back to his homeland, but during a layover in Istanbul, he and his wife managed to escape from the officers and board a flight to Cairo.

Given the rise of anti-immigrant policies around the world, there are likely to be more and more cases in which their supporters come under attack. A prestigious profession or status as a fighter against the regime provides less and less protection from deportations and visa restrictions. Germany has virtually stopped issuing humanitarian visas and has begun negotiations with the Taliban on the expulsion of Afghans. The US even deports deserters and imposes restrictions on professionals arriving on a highly skilled worker visa. What makes migrants oppose freedom of movement in conditions where the fight against it could threaten them or their loved ones?

Assimilation and imaginary competition for jobs

Migrants against migration are a fairly common phenomenon. For example, the head of the Alternatives for Germany (AfD) branch in the city of Gelsenkirchen is a native of Albania , Enxi Seli-Zacharias. She mobilizes the Turkish diaspora of the city against the Arabs, emphasizing the fact that the latter are given passports for nothing, while the Turks have to make many efforts to integrate into society.

As a rule, people who have just recently arrived in a new country are, on average, much more favorable towards migration than locals. However, as they assimilate, they tend to adopt opposing views. Thus, in the UK, 83% of locals and 53% of visitors who have lived there for more than five years are against migration. Of those who have lived in the country for less than this period, 33% do not support the arrival of new immigrants.

Children of migrants already born in a new country have closer views on issues such as unemployment, gay marriage or migration to native residents than to their own parents, surveys conducted in 24 European countries show .