Abstract

VEGA MACIAS, Daniel. The COVID-19 pandemic on anti-immigration and xenophobic discourse in Europe and the United States. Estud. front [online]. 2021, vol.22, e066.  Epub June 02, 2021. ISSN 2395-9134.  https://doi.org/10.21670/ref.2103066.

In the last decades, anti-immigration discourse had been growing in some European countries and the United States. Migration as a problem was already a recurring argument in migration guidelines in some national states and it was also a political flag for right-wing formations. The objective of this research is to analyze how the health contingency by COVID-19 has influenced the political discourse on immigration. The investigation was based on a hemerographic review, including information from newspapers, news agencies and international organizations, carried out from March to September 2020. The results obtained from this research suggest that the pandemic has strengthened the anti-immigration positions, since it offers a manichean argument which might encourage xenophobic feelings and actions in the host societies.

Keywords : COVID-19; anti-immigration discourse; United States; Europe; migration policy; pandemics; border.