The U.K. Braces for the Next Wave of Immigration

Immigration is suddenly a hot topic in the U.S., but it has been hot in the United Kingdom for a while. European Union rules will require Great Britain to admit vast numbers of Eastern European immigrants, starting next year. Why? Just because, apparently. We wrote here about how immigrants from elsewhere in Europe can live high off the hog on British welfare, which is far more lavish than anything available in their native lands–so lavish as to dispense entirely with any necessity to work. The Brits can see what is coming, and they are trying to stave it off the only way they know how, short of dropping out of the EU (which may, actually, be the next step). They are trying to discourage Eastern European immigrants from seeing Britain as the promised land of endless welfare benefits.

The Guardian solicited its readers–tongue in cheek, the paper assures us–to submit posters that might help discourage unwanted immigration:

With government ministers reportedly considering a negative ad campaign to deter potential immigrants from coming to the UK, we asked you for your tongue-in-cheek suggestions for what aspects of Britain should be included in the campaign. The weather, our transport network, and our politicians were all popular suggestions – here’s the best of your posters.

They are mostly pretty good. This one is crude, but could be effective with the target audience:

This one is my favorite:

The only catch is, prospective immigrants can’t be allowed to find out that in fact, loo-cleaning is strictly optional. The welfare money will flow in any event.

Does all of this have any relevance to the immigration debate in the U.S.? Discuss.

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