Mass migration in the UK: should they stay or should they go?
Locals in Rotherham and Barnsley weigh in on how the United States is addressing immigration under Trump and whether the United Kingdom should follow a similar approach.
Mass immigration and deportations have been a hot topic in the West since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been facing pressure over the country's own issues with immigration.
President Donald Trump has been tackling the issue by fulfilling his election promise of deporting illegal migrants, particularly those who have committed serious offences. His adviser, Elon Musk, brought global attention to the U.K.'s struggles with immigration and integration, forcing Labour and the prime minister to respond.
We travelled to Rotherham and Barnsley, where we asked what people thought of Trump's deportation plan and the state of Starmer's leadership.
What we learned was there was considerable support for the way the U.S. was tackling the issue.
One young man said he backed what Trump was doing and thought the U.K. should follow a similar approach. Another woman added that if people “are causing trouble here,” then she would support deportations.
Mass migration is “getting out of hand now,” one of the people we spoke to told us. “It's just getting worse and worse, but then they keep saying all this and that like they're going to send them back, but they never do.”
But it wasn't all support, however.
One man shockingly said he thought none of the people coming to the country were committing any crimes at all.
“You have to think about why the people are coming here,” said another man who immigrated to England. “Why am I here? If my country was not destroyed, I wouldn't be here.”
Someone else told us nobody should be deported at all, “because everybody's got a right to food, clothes and shelter,” he said. “What gives us rights to say no you can't come in?”
When we asked the people of Rotherham and Barnsley what they thought about Keir Starmer, many offered little, if any, comment.
Perhaps the tone was summed up best by one former Labour voter, who told us he had supported the party his whole life but will “never vote Labour again.”
As the issues of immigration and integration continue to unfold in the U.S., it's certain to remain a heated debate here in the U.K. and across the Western world.
Sammy Woodhouse
UK-based Journalist
Sammy Woodhouse is a best-selling author of Just a Child, an international speaker, documentary filmmaker, award-winning activist, and news reporter. Passionate about raising awareness around child exploitation and the impact on children born from rape, Sammy has been a tireless advocate for change. In 2013, Sammy exposed the country’s largest child sexual exploitation scandal, shedding light on government corruption. Her work has contributed to significant shifts in policy and law in the UK.
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COMMENTS
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Howard Mirkin commented 2025-02-10 14:52:46 -0500Why would anyone in their right mind believe Herr Starmer? -
Howard Mirkin commented 2025-02-10 14:52:03 -0500It is kind of tricky asking(some) people who can’t think what they think.
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David James commented 2025-02-10 09:40:09 -0500These sheep are the clear and evident reason why democracy results in something which ends up treating everyone but an elite as a dairy cow. You’d get more sophistication on the streets of most other twns in most other countries, I am sorry to say.
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jerry stone commented 2025-02-06 10:59:33 -0500common good the war cry of all communists and would be dick-taters
