It did not take long after the reelection of President Barack Obama in the United States last month for a powerful belief to be formed that his victory had been secured thanks to the overwhelming level of support he had received from the Latino community. This also implied that the Republican Party, who had long held a hard line when it came to the issue of American immigration, had better wake up and start talking immigration reform or risk becoming an irrelevance in American politics, with pundits arguing that if the Republican Party resisted such reform, they would lose all chance of winning the Latino vote for the next generation.
Whether this belief is true or not, there are lessons for governments all across the planet in the implications for immigration felt by the American election. Most remarkable is how quickly anti-immigration politics began to buckle in the wake of the results.
Politicians are often driven by fear when it comes to the issue of immigration, and the election was a clear message that Americans are tired of their leaders running away from the issue and that it is time for them to take responsibility and face it head on.
The fact is that while Americans may not like the fact that some people enter their country illegally, the majority also greatly dislike the reality that migrants end up having to live their entire lives hiding in the shadows. The reality is that whether or not one wants less or more immigration, talking about the challenge related to the issue is an absolute necessity.