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The continuing protests at UK hotels housing asylum seekers no doubt risk slowly descending into a breakdown of law and order if they are left undealt with by a government that is trying its best to contain public anger and a far right that is determined to use the immigration debate to win as many votes as possible. The UK government of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after only one year in office, seems to be fighting a losing battle as it seeks to stem public anger and attempts to erode its legitimacy based on the false narrative that it is failing to control the UK’s borders.

The UK’s immigration system needs fixing; not now, not yesterday, but for the past several decades. The problem today, however, is how can the current government diffuse the tension that is mounting every day in communities up and down the country? How can it calm those who believe the nation is being invaded by foreigners — people that “don’t look like us” and are culturally different.

Even before the social media era, history was awash with stories of failed integration, and that remains a ready recipe to be whipped up by populist leaders and right-wing parties to create a schism in society that will only increase hate and uncertainty. This is not only for the newcomers, but also for those in society who are demonstrating and protesting, as the end result might be more isolationism, prejudice and social segregation that tarnishes the country for decades to come.

Above all, the danger is that the UK, like many countries in the Western world, is at the mercy of a global trend of increasing migration due to many factors, such as conflict, instability, food shortages, climate change and socioeconomic adversities. These issues have been battering many people and leading them to seek new homes.

The UK’s immigration system needs fixing; not now, not yesterday, but for the past several decades

Mohamed Chebaro

At the same time, the world is looking increasingly at the mercy of a “hate the others” trend. This is especially apparent in Europe, which many believe has been at the mercy of malicious campaigns that aim to sow chaos and undermine its liberties and democracies. The winds of such toxic narratives blowing from the US are only exacerbating intolerance, spurring some into anti-immigrant and xenophobic actions with the aim of remodeling countries along intolerant lines that reject multiculturalism in favor of a more homogenous state and society.

The recent protests and besieging of asylum seeker housing centers have been slowly eroding public safety for some. Meanwhile, efforts to raise flags in towns and cities as a symbolic patriotic gesture are creating a type of hostile environment for all communities in a very mixed UK, among them the supporters of right-wing parties that have been championing divisive actions in the name of taking back control of borders and towns.

The government has been trying its best to stem the flow of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, but the devil is in the details. Migration has been out of control for decades and if the government is to pursue a just and equitable solution, taking into consideration human rights and refugee conventions, it will take a very long time. Taking radical actions, such as using executive orders to repatriate failed asylum seekers en masse, as seen in the US, is not yet possible in the British system due to its independent judiciary and the government’s commitment to conventions and treaties. However, such notions are now thought to be outdated by some.

Besieged by impatient demands being whipped up to angry demands by social media and opposition parties bent on using every opportunity to politicize the complex issue of taming migration, the government is looking increasingly like a lame duck. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has been reminding everyone that the government is determined to maintain its current approach of ending the use of hotels to house asylum seekers and preventing the dangerous small-boat crossings, which have been enraging the right-wing parties, while putting in place a fair system that supports genuine refugees, as this country has always done. However, this is unlikely to satisfy the opposition parties.

One fears that even worse protests could be just around the corner, further endangering social cohesion

Mohamed Chebaro

For years, the UK, like many countries, have grappled with issues around integration and promoting multiculturalism. It has struggled to accept and celebrate the contribution of migrants and refugees to what is effectively a nation of migrants. But amid today’s discord and extreme populist and supremacist narratives, facilitated and magnified by the “Make America Great Again” tribe in the US, it looks increasingly difficult to foresee a way in which any government could mount a credible defense of immigrants, both virtually and physically. Those behind the anti-immigration campaigns are whipping up hate and prejudice and sowing chaos that could remind people of the dark days witnessed in some parts of Europe on the eve of the Second World War.

One fears that even worse protests could be just around the corner, further endangering social cohesion in a pluralist UK.

In Iceland, dozens of vigilantes sporting black shirts emblazoned with the Iron Cross have recently been seen roaming the streets of central Reykjavik, surprising some and sowing fears among others. In Poland and the Netherlands, vigilantes have been seen roaming border regions close to Germany ready to turn back any asylum seekers. In Belfast in Northern Ireland, vigilantes were last month filmed roaming the streets after sunset, demanding to see identity documents of people of color.

These groups have sprung up in recent months, claiming to be reassurance and protection forces, but those who know the practices of vigilantes know how their actions often exacerbate security concerns and not reduce them, while undermining the agents of the law. Meanwhile, politicians search for solutions to remedy any ills or grievances as a result of migration or asylum.

• Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’ experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.