Europe’s democratic strain is a crisis of governance, not borders

Chicago has become the focal point of the Trump administration’s renewed push for immigration enforcement. Operation Midway Blitz, a government initiative to target irregular immigration and crack down on “sanctuary policies”, has led to hundreds of arrests across the city. Across the Atlantic, British prime minister Keir Starmer has also recently unveiled a flagship plan to curb Britain’s migration levels. This includes tougher settlement and citizenship rules, increased fees for employers hiring foreign talent, and deterring small boats from crossing the English Channel from France.

Public response to the initiatives has differed across each country. Operation Midway Blitz sparked protests and legal challenges; local and state officials have responded with court orders limiting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in sensitive spaces, such as barring warrantless arrests in and around courthouses. Britain, on the other hand, saw its largest far-right protest in decades as between 100,000 and 150,000 people—carrying anti-immigration placards and holding national flags—descended on London. The protestors chanted against Starmer while listening to a livestream of Elon Musk as he called for the dissolution of parliament and a “change of government”.

Focus on the positives

The approach to migration in each country is different. However, developments in the US and Britain demonstrate a broader shift in how Western governments are using migration enforcement as a political instrument. Governments are framing migration as a national security issue (rather than a humanitarian responsibility under international law and as a key driver of economic growth), meaning migration management is fuelling nationalist, right-wing narratives. How governments are handling an increase in migration is prompting civil society actors and democracy experts to raise urgent questions about the viability of current processes and systems, such as border control or housing allocations—and the transparency thereof.  

In Western democracies, the development of harsher migration policies is leading to a greater distinction between the notions of “us” and “them”.This allows governments to use migration as an excuse to hide other problems in their democracy: the increasing number of supporters for far-right movements across Europe and the US highlights why incumbent governments need to develop strategies to reinforce democratic resilience. Governments in Europe, and the UK and the US, should—at the very least—change the rhetoric around migration so it becomes an opportunity to address growing problems caused by the demographic shortfall in Europe. Migration is also necessary to fill skill and knowledge gaps in their labour markets.

Assessing democratic health

Democracies become insecure when their governments lack transparency, when they insufficiently respond to external security challenges, or when they do not provide labour market renewal, economic growth, demographic stability or regional revitalisation. Populations can rebel by protesting or by embracing antidemocratic figures who try to undermine democratic norms and institutions. EU countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, have witnessed the latter over the last decade. The US election in 2024, which saw Donald Trump win a second term, is also a prime example of this change.

Even Britain’s more centre-left government is facing pressure from political parties, like Reform UK, to find quick solutions to socioeconomic issues such as a lack of sufficient housing. This means Starmer is resorting to the type of rhetoric more often seen among his right-wing counterparts, causing unease among much of Labour’s voter base. A similar pattern is emerging in parts of Europe: for example, in September, several hundred people in The Hague protested to demand tougher measures to tackle migration. The demonstration happened a month before the Dutch election, in which migration (and housing) are highly politicised issues.

While the migration debate remains a central driver of political polarisation, the broader challenge lies in how governments can tackle institutional distrust

While the migration debate remains central to Europe’s political polarisation, the broader challenge lies in how governments can stop the far-right weaponising institutional distrust. The same faction is also using disinformation and online radicalisation to erode democratic norms, creating a general pattern across European societies: migration is a top political priority, which the far-right then exploits by spreading misinformation around those arriving in host countries to gain votes. In Greece, for example, such discourses are developing in tandem with Trumpian anti-outsider narratives in America—and combining to frame migration as a global security issue.

Untangling the narrative

EU frameworks should guide how migration policy is shaped at European and national levels. For example, the EU’s Democratic Activation of Youth pilot project in Italy empowers young migrants to take part in local decision-making. But individual governments also need to adapt such policies to their country’s reality. Alongside prioritising youth participation, this also means connecting the idea of migration with stability and legitimacy through inclusive, well-resourced mobility and participatory schemes. Germany’s jugendmigrationsdiente, for instance, provides guidance on education, training and social integration; in Spain, the Department of Social Welfare in the Canary Islands has collaborated with the regional employment service to launch a vocational training programme for 900 migrant youths. Such initiatives intend to foster integration between migrant youth and local peers, promoting cohesion and shared civic participation.

Some countries are taking these positive steps still further. While France, Germany, the UK and the US have cut back their development aid, Spain is increasing its contributions and taking steps to ease the economic pressures caused by migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez has argued that “Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed-off, poor country”, saying that “migration [is] not only a question of humanity… [but the] only realistic means of growing the economy and sustaining the welfare state”. As a result, Spain’s economy grew by 3.2% in 2024. Its next step should be to reinforce its integration systems and address fears—most often put forward by Vox and People’s Party voters—that continued migration will cause the Spanish population to lose its cultural identity.

A different approach

At the same time, combatting far-right narratives requires strengthening the structural foundations of democracy itself: now Europe’s mainstream parties need to rethink how they engage citizens in democracy. Politics is no longer confined to a closed-off building situated in a country’s capital. Rather, it has encroached onto the internet via live-streamed debates and social media pages. Politicians must enhance their participation in the spaces where voters, and especially young people, live and communicate to better understand public concern and discontent. Democratic institutions upholding transparency, accountability and rights-based governance could help prevent the far-right from exploiting discontent by countering their narratives, and ensure that democracies remain credible actors on the international stage.

On October 25th, left-wing independent Catherine Conolly won Ireland’s presidential election with a campaign focused on economic justice, peace and neutrality. Dublin has recently seen anti-immigration protests ending up in violent clashes with the police; but Connolly has criticised the Irish system for migration management and advocates a more rights-based, inclusive approach. At the same time, she recognises practical constraints, like the housing crisis. Her election demonstrates that a population can show discontent and frustration without resorting to supporting far-right narratives.

But Ireland is a unique example. Across Europe, right-wing and far-right leaders are often younger, more articulate and more effective at engaging other young voters than their more conservative predecessors (for example, France’s Jordan Bardella or Germany’s Alice Weidel). Mainstream politics in Europe lacks the same sense of renewal; moderate parties need to respond to public discontent while securing sustainable and representative democratic systems which reflect the needs of every generation.

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The situations in Chicago and London show that migration is not only a matter of law enforcement; it is a politically charged issue susceptible to misinformation. The disparate examples of Ireland, the UK and the US illustrate how migration governance remains complex even in healthy democracies. But across the West, political figures are using migration as a political instrument to overshadow other important challenges and test democratic values. European countries need to realise that migration is not the root cause behind the backsliding of democratic values—rather, it is amplifying existing problems which their governments need to address.