The Foreign Desk Does the immigration debate have to be like this?
18 snips
Sep 6, 2025 
Pia Orrenius, Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, brings economic insights into the immigration debate alongside Anoushka Asthana, US editor for Channel 4 News, who discusses political strategies in both the US and UK. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann provides context on historical immigration fears. They explore the complexities of immigration policy, the economic reliance on immigrant labor, and how far-right politics impacts societal perceptions. Can coherent reform emerge amidst the chaos? The conversation seeks to unravel these pressing issues.
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From Statue Of Liberty To Keep-Out Signs
- The podcast locates a sharp shift from America’s immigrant-welcoming narrative to a newer nativist backlash across Western democracies.
- Andrew Muller and guests link political trends and fearmongering to a global rise in populist anti-immigrant politics.
Border Work And Nighttime Construction
- Pia Orrenius describes local effects of crackdowns in Texas, especially on construction and cross-border day labourers.
- She reports arrests have tripled or quadrupled yet removals will still fall short of government targets.
Immigration Drives Recent Job Growth
- Orrenius quantifies immigration’s role in job growth: historically ~50% of net new jobs, rising above 80% in 2021–24.
- She and Dallas Fed analysis link reduced inflows to a GDP growth loss roughly 0.4–0.8 percentage points in a year.
