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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Larry Elliott

UK spending on trying to halt the flow of refugees is a classic false economy

A police officer stands guard on the beach of Dungeness, Kent, southern England, as lifeboat crew help people disembark.
A police officer stands guard on the beach of Dungeness, Kent, southern England, as lifeboat crew help people disembark. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump never did manage to build the wall on the US’s southern border. Rishi Sunak may have no better luck stopping the small boats with his plan to put refugees on barges or send them to Rwanda.

But the extent to which governments will go to “defend” their borders shows just how hot a political topic migration has become across developed western countries. Nor is it just the case in the US and UK. Sweden and Germany have seen the emergence of anti-immigration parties in recent years as the number of migrants has increased.

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