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As an aside, I find it amusing that Biden is now as tough - and perhaps tougher - than Trump ever was. All while promising to run a much more liberal immigration system during the campaign. For open borders supporters (all five of them), this must be a dark day.
On a more general note, I think the reason why people come is banally simple: money. Much of the third world has been either stagnant (Brazil) or actively declining (Venezuela). I've read that even many Indians and Chinese are now also increasing their numbers. Europe is seeing huge surges in illegal migration too. The 2015 refugee crisis is likely just a prelude of what's coming down the pike in this century.
The only really effective way to truly repel people at the border would probably be lethal violence in an organised way, which is obviously a non-starter for any liberal democracy. I'm not making any predictions, but I wouldn't be shocked if the Biden admin began to really ramp up construction of the border wall and upgrading it in older areas. Would be a funny troll in the event of Trump against Biden in 2024, which at this point seems almost certain.
At least European refugee situations are quite clearly, at least to some degree, the result of wars. During the 2015-2016 crisis the top countries for asylum applicants were Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, and all of those were in the grip of a civil war at the time.
That's what they claimed. In reality, many just bought fake passports in Turkish bazaars. Others threw away their passports once they crossed the border and claimed they were from Syria. Under the rules that existed then, it wasn't possible to deport them.
Today countries like Tunisia, Pakistan and Bangladesh are much more numerous even if the old ones like Syria still dominate. It has morphed into a general economic migration. Of course, everyone will claim they are fleeing war because they know that will increase their chances.
That said, the wars in Syria and Afghanistan certainly made matters worse. Which is why Europe's enthusiasm for America's imperial wars is perplexing to me. The blowback often shows up on Europe's shores - literally.
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