one side broadly seeks to restrict, remove, or roll back rights — the other broadly seeks to protect or expand them. That is not moral equivalence. That is not “two sides of the same coin.” That is a structural difference in who gets to live safely. And when we pretend otherwise, we obscure harm.

Assuming that forced migrants are now safe in the West is a harmful myth. While it may be relatively safer than the conditions they fled, forced migrants continue to face significant threats. Racism, xenophobia, and anti-migrant sentiments are pervasive, as highlighted by the racist and Islamophobic riots across the UK in the summer of 2024, culminating in the tragic arson attack on a hotel housing migrants.