America First Policy Institute Center for Homeland Security & Immigration and the Center for Fundamental Rights
Mass, uncontrolled migration is a universal evil that violates the rights and harms the legitimate interests and well-being of all concerned: the countries of destination, the countries of origin, the transit countries, and, perhaps most egregiously, the migrants themselves. Despite this obvious truth, a vast ideologically driven network of forces has coalesced in recent decades under the banner of "open society" to perpetuate this evil. The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) and Hungary's preeminent political and legal research institute, the Center for Fundamental Rights, have joined forces to produce a policy paper that sets out the ambitious task of identifying the causes of mass migration, exposing its propagators, describing the tools they use, exploring potential solutions and the broader political-ideological-cultural background. The ultimate goal of the paper is the exchange and corroboration of two different experiences with a view to identifying ways of mutual applicability in order to ultimately end mass migration as a human evil.
The joint AFPI-CFR study outlines the parallel experiences of the U.S. and Hungary with border security and uncontrolled mass immigration. It highlights mass immigration not only as a key element of demographic policy, but also as a political tool of the Left to change the cultural landscape and undermine conservative values. The policy paper analyzes the specific countermeasures of the Hungarian government and the Trump administration, their effectiveness, and the adversaries' strategies to overcome them. It also reflects on the distinctions between mass migration to the US and EU/Hungary, noting the importance of culturally different kinds of migrants with different sentiments towards the target country.
The Organizations
The mission of the America First Policy Institute is to advance the America First Agenda and provide a solid intellectual, academic, legal, and policy foundation for the coming America First Administration. The Center for Fundamental Rights upholds the traditions and values of Hungary, a nation with over a thousand years of history in the heart of Europe. The Center is deeply committed to the basic values of God, Homeland and Family. The Center is aligned with Hungary's strong stance on mass illegal migration, because preserving our Judeo-Christian culture is a cornerstone of Hungary's identity and culture.
Overview of the Problem
A fundamental challenge facing the West is the demographic crisis manifested in declining birth rates and aging societies. The solution to thawing the demographic winter is obvious: increase national birth rates by implementing family-friendly policies that have been tried and tested over the past decade in the incubator of conservative policies that work: Hungary. Liberals and leftists propose increasing migration instead. Some of them may be doing so "only" because they are after an immediate solution or an electoral advantage, but there are darker actors among the forces arrayed.
George Soros has led an extensive network of influence groups masquerading as "civil society" and other shadowy, unaccountable actors to promote a doctrine that claims "diversity is strength," despite millennia of history providing ample, convincing evidence to the contrary. Their goal goes far beyond an unfair advantage at the polls; this postmodern leftist ideology and its adepts are intent on undermining the nation, state sovereignty, and the economic underpinnings of representative democracy, with the ultimate goal of replacing Western Civilization with something radically different.
A healthy immune response to this dangerous phenomenon is complicated by a number of factors, including a mainstream press and political culture that ignores, explains away, or falsely attributes to unrelated causes urgent crises directly caused by mass, uncontrolled immigration from distant, alien, often incompatible cultures.
Crime is a persistent evil that governments will fight but never defeat completely, and the historical record is clear that in periods of increased immigration, crime rates rise. Some individuals also pose an obvious risk to national security. It is now known that many terrorists, such as members of the Islamic State, have crossed EU borders and committed terrorist acts in Western countries disguised as refugees. Health threats also come from across borders. Diseases that have long existed within a national community become endemic and give little cause for general alarm. However, non-native viruses and bacteria sometimes pose serious risks.
Europe suffers from an additional contingency. Unlike the U.S., where the majority of migrants come from Latin America, which shares some important civilizational similarities with the U.S., most notably a healthy respect for our Judeo-Christian heritage, most of the illegal migrants flooding the EU come from a cultural background entirely alien to the Old World's. As a result, Europe is grappling with rising anti-Semitism. Given its history in the 20th century, the rise of anti-Jewish hatred comes at a particularly high social cost.
Mass migration is also driven by a number of negative factors that have plagued source countries for decades. These include unprecedented population growth accelerated by international aid programs, the proliferation of failed states and terrorist groups, and the negative impact of the Internet, which helps spread pro-migration propaganda throughout the developing world.
The Ideological Adversary
In recent decades, a new global ideology, that of "open society," has gained ground. The foundations of this dangerous worldview were laid by the Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper, but its practical implementation fell to an unlikely anti-hero, the Hungarian-Jewish-American financier George Soros. What began with the capture of a few American universities culminated in a broad, global network of influence and a state of dominance by Open Society adepts throughout Western institutions, as they and their allies work tirelessly to co-opt and corrupt key actors in journalism, the judiciary, elected politics, popular culture, and even corporations.
A major pillar of the open society dogma is a pro-migration stance, and efforts to deconstruct borders are evident in both the United States and Europe. NGOs seek to erode state control over national borders in a variety of ways, including attempts to sensitize public opinion to mass migration through controlled "journalism," "educational" opportunities for young people, and the manipulation of popular culture. Another commonly used tool is lawfare. Open society advocates hijack legal protections by coaching migrants to lie and deceive authorities. They bombard the courts with frivolous lawsuits to weaken legal safeguards against mass migration. Finally, they encourage their allies in politics to weaken national borders wherever they come to power and to divert taxpayer money to finance their activities.
Regional Bad Actors
Conservatives in both the United States and Europe face additional resistance to implementing common sense policies in the form of problematic regional neighbors. The origin of mass illegal immigration into the U.S. begins in the countries south of the border. Mexico can be an unwilling partner in the U.S. fight to preserve national sovereignty and stop illegal immigration. Either out of malice or misguided policy objectives, they refuse to take the necessary steps to secure their southern border and prevent illegal aliens from traveling through their country to reach the U.S. In many of the source countries of migration to the U.S., remittances remain a significant contributor to the national economies, which greatly complicates negotiations.
Hungary and other European nations trying to curb mass migration face formidable hurdles as they try to overcome the EU institutions' neoliberal approach to migration, which treats economic migration - not just seeking refuge - as a "global human right". The federalist movement is also trying to use immigration to weaken the sovereigntists in national elections. Additionally, accusations of "xenophobia" serve as a political cudgel against Member States that resist efforts to create a "United States of Europe". Instead of investing in its own defense, the EU has outsourced the problem of mass migration to neighboring states, including Turkey. The deal depends entirely on Ankara's good will and on stability within Turkey. It provides Ankara with powerful diplomatic leverage in its dealings with the EU and individual Member States along the southeast route.
Exploring the Solutions
When border barriers go up, illegal immigration, crime, and other security risks go down dramatically. This fact has been amply demonstrated in both the United States and Hungary. One of the key immigration policies of the Trump administration was to build a physical structure along the southern border to deter illegal immigration. Over 450 miles of the most robust and advanced border wall in the world was built. Illegal crossings plummeted by over 87% where the wall was built. Hungary, largely due to the sudden onset of the 2015 migration crisis, opted for a versatile system of fencing reinforced with cutting-edge technology that would allow for constant monitoring of the barrier and a networked response by those tasked with manning the border. The result was much the same: Illegal crossings dropped to a fraction of previous levels as soon as the barrier became operational.
What Hungary calls a "legal seal" - a set of laws that empower national authorities, police and immigration officials to act quickly and decisively - is also a high priority. So is ensuring that bottlenecks in the justice system are removed and that migration-related cases can be expedited. The introduction of a state of emergency related to the migration crisis has allowed the Hungarian government and the National Assembly to speed up the strategic decision-making process. Keeping asylum seekers out of the country while their applications are being adjudicated is also an important tool, as demonstrated by the success of Donald Trump's "stay in Mexico" policy and Hungary's requirement that all asylum applications be initiated outside the country at consulates or embassies.
Professionally conducted high-level diplomacy is an important part of the toolbox for anyone hoping to stem mass migration. Through patient but persistent, clear and consistent diplomatic communication, Hungary convinced Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Romania to see efforts to stop migration at the borders not as an attempt to undermine their security, but as a way to advance common interests. These countries have since become allies in the fight against mass migration. The Trump Administration's Asylum Cooperative Agreements showed great potential before the country shut down international travel due to COVID-19. Patient, inventive diplomacy can convince Mexico of the wisdom of curbing migration, and cutting-edge security assistance, properly monitored, can help that country finally end the cartels' reign of terror.
In Europe, where the institutions and bureaucrats of the EU are a significant part of the problem, a political solution is needed. Conservative, sovereigntist parties across the continent must mount an effective, coordinated campaign in the next European Parliament elections to win at least a blocking minority in both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. In the meantime, conservative civil society must organize and put pressure on the EU institutions.
How to deal with George Soros' "open society" will pose serious challenges, but countering its malign influence is an indispensable element of any strategy to curtail mass, uncontrolled, illegal migration. The postmodern, anti-civilizational network has infiltrated all levels of Western society, from district attorneys in the U.S. to the highest courts in Europe. A legislative strategy against this foe would have to overcome insurmountable hurdles, as Hungary found out when its parliament embarked on such an initiative. After the "Stop Soros Law" was torpedoed by Soros' allies in Brussels, Hungary refocused its efforts to rein in open society influence peddling by relying on free speech and open, direct conversations with the public aimed at exposing the network's most nefarious attempts to undermine Budapest's efforts to protect the country. However, it remains to be seen whether there is enough free speech left in Western Europe and North America to stand up to the Soros clan.