One minister has described the United Kingdom as facing an invasion, comments widely criticised by rights organisations.

Government policies include proposals to process asylum seekers’ applications in Rwanda.

The opposition Labour Party says it too wants to reduce the number of arrivals, but with different plans.

Yet, despite the negative political climate, numbers released this week show net migration is at record levels, with a net influx of more than 600,000 people.

Why is there such political opposition to immigration in the United Kingdom?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:
Christa Rottensteiner — UK chief of mission, International Organization for Migration

Fizza Qureshi — CEO, Migrants’ Rights Network

Peter Geoghegan — Editor-in-chief, openDemocracy, an independent news website