ABSTRACT
The social construction of immigration is obviously a much-contested discourse. On the one hand, there is the construction of immigration as a major social problem which can be resolved only by creating more of a fortress, ending both economic and political immigration. On the other hand, there is the construction of immigration as a necessary, even welcome feature of Britain’s embrace of economic and political globalisation. It is impossible to deal with these conflicted constructions in an unbiased, neutral way. This chapter is more sympathetic to the pro-immigration perspective, while attempting to analyse the anti-immigration view as honestly as possible.
