Beyond the Headlines: The Human Cost of the Global Backlash Against Migrants
By Rumbidzai Bvunzawabaya, Immigration Lawyer & Migrant
I came to the UK as a young woman and have now lived here for most of my adult life. This country is home. It is where I raised my children, built businesses, employed people, paid taxes, and contributed to my community. Yet even after decades, I still feel the sting when I read headlines that reduce migrants like me to problems, threats, or statistics.
Across the world, a troubling pattern is emerging. In Britain, foreign students are warned they will be “removed” if they overstay their visas. In Melbourne, Indian families are being targeted with racist messaging questioning their right to belong. In the US, authorities are expanding police-like powers over migrants and even their lawyers. In Africa, migrants caught between borders face hostility and neglect. Different places, but the same message: you do not belong.
When Misreporting Fuels Hostility
A recent report from Oxford University’s Bonavero Institute shows how damaging misreporting can be. It found that 75% of UK news articles about the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) between January and June 2025 focused on immigration control – often misrepresenting tribunal decisions.
Take the infamous “chicken nuggets case,” reported as if a man avoided deportation because his child disliked foreign food. The reality was far more complex, centred on the child’s welfare, and the decision was later overturned. Yet the distorted version stuck, fuelling outrage and mistrust. Misrepresentations like this make people believe our system is broken, when in fact it is the reporting that is broken.
As someone who has spent years in the immigration system – first as a migrant, then as a lawyer – I know how easily stories get stripped of humanity when they enter the public sphere.
The Global Echo Chamber
The same rhetoric repeats globally: migrants as “others.” In Melbourne, racist messages tell Indian migrants they do not belong. In the US, enforcement proposals frame entire communities as suspicious. In Africa, migrant struggles are too often silenced.
It is not coincidence. It is a global wave of anti-migrant sentiment that crosses borders, reinforced by sensational headlines and populist policies.
The People Behind the Policies
But let’s remember the truth: migrants are not just cases, categories, or headlines. They are carers working night shifts so others can sleep. They are business owners creating jobs. They are parents raising children who will contribute to the future of their countries. They are people like me – who once arrived as a newcomer, and over time built a life rooted in contribution, not in taking.
Yet policies and media stories often erase that truth. They flatten our identities into labels like “overstayer,” “illegal,” or “foreign offender.” These words don’t just distort reality; they dehumanise.
Why It Matters
Hostile narratives hurt all of us. They undermine fairness and justice, weaken social cohesion, and obscure the fact that migration strengthens economies and communities. The UK’s health and social care system, for example, would not function without migrant workers. Businesses thrive on migrant innovation and labour. Communities are enriched by cultural diversity.
Beyond the Headlines
As both a migrant and an immigration lawyer, I see beyond the headlines. I see the mothers weeping in my office, fearing deportation. I see the graduates desperate to stay and contribute. I see the families navigating racism in countries they call home.
And I also see resilience. Migrants continue to build, contribute, and belong – despite policies and public opinion that too often say otherwise.
The global backlash against migrants is not just about them – it is about us. It is about who we are becoming as societies, and whether we will choose fear and division over truth and compassion.
Migration is not a problem to be solved. It is a human reality to be embraced – with justice, fairness, and dignity.
