The Psychology Behind Anti-Immigrant Protests Around the World (and what it reveals about us)

Shreya Chaturvedi
Sep 15
5 min read

Anti-immigrant protests are rising across the world. From rallies in the UK to xenophobic violence in South Africa, from policy crackdowns in Italy to heated debates in the United States, immigration has become one of the most polarizing issues of our time. These protests are not only about border numbers or migration policies. They reflect deeper psychological forces rooted in fear, identity, and human needs.

This article explores the psychology behind anti-immigration movements, the cognitive biases that drive them, and the human needs they reveal.

Global Examples of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

United Kingdom: Far-right rallies in 2025 highlighted the growing role of immigration in political debate. Viral images and endorsements turned the issue into a rallying point for protest movements.
European Union: Anti-immigration sentiment surged in many EU capitals in 2024, putting pressure on common migration policies and creating political competition to appear “tough on migration.”
Italy: Recent governments used strict enforcement and rhetoric to reshape migration debates, showing how political choices influence both perception and protest.
South Africa: Anti-immigrant violence has become a recurring issue, especially during election seasons when migrants are scapegoated for unemployment and social strain.
Australia: Longstanding “stop the boats” campaigns and offshore processing policies have shaped public opinion and hardened anti-migrant attitudes.
India: Protests against Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam and debates around the Citizenship Amendment Act reveal anxieties about resources, land, and cultural belonging.

These examples show that protests against immigration are not isolated incidents. They follow a recognizable psychological pattern across cultures and regions.

The Psychology Behind Anti-Immigrant Protests

Status Threat and Group Conflict

People fear losing what they already have. When locals perceive that immigrants are competing for jobs, housing, or welfare, hostility grows. Psychologists call this Realistic Group Conflict Theory. Even if the threat is exaggerated, the belief that “they are taking from us” fuels protests.

Social Identity and Ingroup-Outgroup Thinking

Humans define themselves by group membership such as nationality, class, or religion. According to Social Identity Theory, once a boundary between “us” and “them” is drawn, bias naturally follows. Immigrants are often cast as the outgroup, which makes stereotyping and hostility more likely.

Relative Deprivation and Scapegoating

It is not absolute poverty that drives resentment. It is the feeling of being left behind compared to others. When people believe they are losing ground while migrants are gaining, they experience relative deprivation. This leads to scapegoating, where visible minorities or newcomers are blamed for problems rooted in larger economic or political systems.

Need for Order and Control

Many people have a psychological need for certainty. Rapid cultural change and migration can feel destabilizing. Individuals with more authoritarian worldviews prefer strict boundaries and predictable systems. Protests against immigration are sometimes an attempt to reassert control over a changing society.

Media Influence and Moral Panic

Media plays a powerful role in shaping perception. Negative stories about migrants are often amplified, leading to availability bias. Rare incidents of crime or conflict become symbolic of the entire group. This creates moral panic, where people believe a serious threat exists even when data shows otherwise.

Political Incentives and Leadership Cues

Anti-immigrant rhetoric often rises before elections. Politicians know migration can be used as a tool to mobilize support. When leaders frame immigrants as a problem, protests gain legitimacy and spread faster.

Why People Resist Immigration

Anti-immigration protests are rarely just about economics or politics. They are rooted in psychology and identity. When people feel their sense of belonging or stability is under threat, they often react with fear and hostility toward those they see as outsiders. Immigration becomes a symbol of change that unsettles them.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Psychologist Abraham Maslow explained that human motivation follows a hierarchy of needs. At the bottom are basic survival needs like food and shelter, followed by safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Anti-immigration protests are often connected to the first three levels:

Safety needs: People worry about job security, wages, housing, and safety in their neighborhoods. Immigrants are seen as competition or even threats.
Belonging needs: Immigration can trigger fears of cultural dilution. People fear losing their traditions, language, or way of life.
Esteem needs: Groups with social privilege may feel their status is slipping when new groups rise, leading to resentment and protest.

When these needs feel unstable, the human response is defensive. Protests are one way this defense shows up.

The Psychology of Immigrants in Hostile Situations

While protests often highlight the fears of native populations, it is equally important to understand the psychology of immigrants facing hostility. For them, the journey is not just physical but deeply emotional and psychological.

Survival and Safety Needs: Many immigrants leave their countries due to war, poverty, or persecution. Their immediate psychological focus is survival and securing safety for themselves and their families.
Acculturative Stress: The stress of adapting to a new culture, language barriers, and navigating unfamiliar systems often creates feelings of anxiety, confusion, and isolation.
Belonging vs. Exclusion: Humans need belonging, but discrimination and protests send the opposite signal. Immigrants may experience loneliness, alienation, or “otherness.”
Identity Conflict: Immigrants often live in between worlds — balancing their heritage with the pressure to assimilate. This can create inner conflict about who they are and where they belong.
Resilience and Growth: Despite the challenges, immigrants often develop remarkable resilience. They draw strength from family bonds, cultural traditions, and the hope of a better future, which helps them cope with hostility.

How to Reduce Anti-Immigrant Hostility

Build Shared Goals

Research shows that when groups cooperate toward common goals, hostility decreases. Community programs that create shared benefits between locals and migrants can reduce the “us versus them” mindset.

Create Positive Intergroup Contact

Contact between groups reduces prejudice only when conditions are right. True interaction, equal status, and shared projects help people see one another as individuals rather than stereotypes.

Address Real Concerns

When infrastructure, jobs, or housing are under pressure, governments need to address these issues directly. Ignoring them only fuels scapegoating.

Counter Negative Framing

Responsible leadership and media coverage matter. Avoiding exaggerated claims about immigrants helps prevent moral panic.

Strengthen Self-Identity

When individuals have a strong sense of self, they do not need to push others down in order to feel secure. Programs that build self-belief, critical thinking, and identity resilience reduce the psychological appeal of exclusionary protests.

Conclusion

Anti-immigrant protests are not just about numbers at the border. They are about fear, identity, and human needs. The psychology behind them shows a pattern that repeats across countries and issues: groups in power feel threatened when others rise. Facts and policies are important, but lasting change requires addressing deeper needs for security, status, belonging, and control.

By building stronger individual identities and fostering cooperation rather than division, societies can reduce hostility and create space where both locals and migrants can thrive.