Looking back on 2025, migration emerged as a defining political flashpoint across the West. Even in countries such as Australia and Canada—nations built on successive waves of immigration, economically reliant on skilled migrants and publicly committed to multiculturalism—the latter half of the year exposed deep anxieties and social fractures.

In Australia, nationwide “March for Australia” rallies drew thousands into the streets of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide under the banner of opposing “mass migration.” Organisers and fringe groups portrayed newcomers as a threat to housing and public services, rhetoric that quickly spilled into racist targeting of Indian and other South Asian communities.

In Canada, anti-immigration demonstrations in 2025—particularly in Ontario and British Columbia—were framed around housing shortages and strained infrastructure. Yet the language at several rallies, and across social media, frequently singled out Indian international students and recent South Asian arrivals as symbols of “unsustainable migration.” Calls to cap student visas from India blurred the line between policy debate and ethnic scapegoating, contributing to a climate in which established Indo-Canadian communities reported increased hostility.

In the United States, renewed border tensions and opposition to skilled-worker visa programs have sharpened anti-migrant rhetoric, at times singling out Indian tech workers and South Asian professionals as symbols of “job displacement.” At the same time, enforcement actions have included the high-profile detention and deportation of undocumented Indian nationals, reinforcing a broader narrative that conflates irregular migration with established South Asian communities. Although framed in legal and economic terms, such measures and the surrounding political rhetoric have contributed to a climate in which many Indian Americans feel newly exposed to suspicion and hostility.

Across Europe, governments and far-right movements amplified similar narratives, with mass protests and escalating political rhetoric demanding ever tougher restrictions.

Demographic Reality, Political Evasion

It was in this climate that an earlier essay, Why Multiculturalism is Saving, Not Sinking the West, argued that demographic change is not a theory to be debated but a reality to be managed. Ageing populations, shrinking workforces and the needs of modern economies make immigration not a luxury, but a structural necessity.

Yet even those who accept this reality often feel uneasy. They worry that poorly explained or unmanaged migration risks social cohesion. They point to perceived cultural distance and to the rise of populist and nationalist movements feeding off that unease.

Two forces have stepped into this space: those who sincerely view immigration as a threat, and those who see fear as political opportunity. Given the scale and speed of recent migration flows, some turbulence was inevitable. What is more troubling has been the governmental response—too often marked by silence, evasion or technocratic detachment.

By implementing migration policies without sustained public explanation, political leaders have reinforced the perception that decisions are imposed from above. What may be administrative ineptness is widely interpreted as elitism. This vacuum has been readily filled.

Writers such as Douglas Murray, author of The Strange Death of Europe, have framed demographic change as civilisational decline, even recasting Enoch Powell’s 1968 “Rivers of Blood” speech as prophecy rather than polemic. In the absence of a coherent and confident government narrative, such arguments gain traction.

The consequences are visible: larger anti-immigration rallies, emboldened ultra-right movements and a climate in which hate speech and intimidation flourish.

From Numbers to Narrative

What is needed now is not a leadership that believes and acts like it knows best but a leadership that can engage and explain. Western governments must articulate migration policy clearly, explain why certain categories of migrants are prioritised, and demonstrate how integration strengthens rather than weakens social cohesion. Effective policy demands clarity, not pandering; confidence, not equivocation.

As Parag Khanna argues in Move, the world is entering an era of unprecedented human mobility. This transformation is already underway. Western governments must therefore do more than manage intake numbers; they must explain why migration is inevitable, how it supports ageing societies and modern economies, and what support systems ensure change is orderly and fair.

When governments communicate honestly about both the opportunities and the challenges of migration—when they acknowledge pressures while explaining long-term necessity—fear begins to recede and public confidence can grow. Political courage today means explaining, listening and building a shared narrative in which migration is understood not as chaos, but as a managed and constructive force.

A Shared Responsibility

Countries such as Australia and Canada will continue to rely on immigration, much of it from South Asia. That reality carries responsibility not only for governments, but also for migrant communities themselves. South Asians—many of whom are highly visible beneficiaries of these migration systems—have a stake in strengthening social cohesion, engaging in national conversations and demonstrating, through civic participation and leadership, that demographic change can reinforce rather than fragment the societies they now call home.

Only through honest governance and active citizenship can the West move through this period of profound demographic change with stability, fairness and a renewed sense of common purpose.

(The author is an independent researcher. He served as Director of Programmes at the Centre for Just Peace and Democracy (CJPD), a Switzerland-based action research centre, from 2007 to 2009. Views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at ana_pararajasingham@yahoo.com.au )