The Hindu Editorial Analysis
29 October 2025
Rethinking Immigration in the Age of Exclusion
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)
Topic : GS Paper I: World History | GS Paper II: Global Governance | GS Paper IV: Ethics
Context
This editorial critiques the modern politics of immigration, particularly in the United States and the West, which has turned from a promise of refuge into an arena of xenophobia, exclusion, and ideological warfare.
Drawing on the metaphor of Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of the New World, Shelley Walia exposes how historical amnesia and racialized colonial narratives continue to shape Western immigration policies, often dehumanizing those who seek safety and opportunity.
The author argues that to move forward, societies must acknowledge colonial violence, reclaim historical truth, and redefine immigration not as invasion, but as interconnected human movement.
1. Historical Background: From Columbus to Colonialism
a) Columbus and the Myth of Discovery
- The arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 marked the beginning of mass displacement, colonization, and cultural genocide of indigenous civilizations in the Americas.
- Western historical narratives glorified Columbus’s voyage as a symbol of progress and discovery, while erasing the violent subjugation and extermination of native peoples.
- The Iroquois Confederacy, among others, had developed democratic governance and sustainable social systems long before European colonization, but these were destroyed and erased from mainstream memory.
b) The Ideology of “Civilizing Mission”
- Colonialism justified expansion through the rhetoric of “civilizing the primitive.”
- This white supremacist narrative continues to underpin immigration debates today, where migrants from the Global South are portrayed as threats rather than contributors.
Thus, the modern immigration crisis is not new — it is a continuation of the same racialized exclusion that defined the colonial era.
2. Immigration and the Legacy of Historical Amnesia
a) The U.S. and the Myth of Exceptionalism
- The U.S. has historically viewed itself as a nation of immigrants, but that inclusivity has been limited to Europeans.
- Under Trump-era nationalism, immigration was redefined through fear and hostility, particularly targeting refugees, Muslims, and Latin Americans.
- This hypocrisy — celebrating European settlers while vilifying modern migrants — reflects collective amnesia about America’s own violent origins.
b) The Case of “Geronimo” and Symbolic Appropriation
- Walia cites how the U.S. military’s Operation Neptune Spear (2011) — the mission to kill Osama bin Laden — used the codename “Geronimo”, a historical Apache leader who resisted U.S. colonization.
- This act demonstrates how imperial powers appropriate indigenous resistance icons to justify modern militarism and counterterrorism.
The U.S. projects itself as a victim of migration and terrorism, while forgetting its own legacy of invasion and displacement.
3. The Modern Age of Exclusion
a) Contemporary Immigration Politics
- In today’s global context, migrants from war-torn or climate-affected regions (Syria, Venezuela, sub-Saharan Africa) face rejection and criminalization at Western borders.
- Immigration has been reframed as a security threat rather than a humanitarian issue.
- The Trump era epitomized this through travel bans, border walls, and family separations, institutionalizing xenophobia under the guise of nationalism.
b) The Rhetoric of Fear and Control
- Political leaders exploit immigration anxieties to consolidate populist power.
- Migrants are often labeled as criminals, job-stealers, or cultural invaders, reducing complex social realities to simplistic fear narratives.
- This creates a “fortress mentality” among citizens of wealthy nations — an emotional architecture of exclusion.
The author calls this a “neo-colonial reproduction of fear”, where historical violence is normalized in the name of modern security.
4. The Moral and Philosophical Crisis
a) What Mainstream Historians Ignore
- Colonial histories have often silenced narratives of enslavement, rape, and annihilation of indigenous and African peoples.
- By portraying Columbus and other colonizers as “pioneers,” Western education systems embed a moral hierarchy of race and civilization that persists in modern immigration discourse.
- Thus, to question colonial legacy is not being “anti-American” or “revisionist”; it is an act of moral remembrance.
b) The Human Cost of Forgetting
- Walia notes that forgetting is not neutral — it perpetuates injustice.
- Immigrants today face the same logic of racial exclusion that denied the humanity of colonized peoples centuries ago.
- Immigration detention centers, deportation raids, and refugee bans mirror the old colonial technologies of control — only rebranded in modern bureaucratic terms.
The fight for migration justice is, therefore, a continuation of the anti-colonial struggle for dignity and recognition.
5. The Ethical Call for Reimagining Migration
a) Beyond Legalism: Towards Moral Reparation
- The debate on immigration must move beyond legality to morality and justice.
- If colonialism celebrated conquest as discovery, today’s global community must celebrate migration as interdependence and exchange.
- Migration has always been central to human survival — from the movement of early humans to the modern refugee crises.
b) Learning from the Past
- True progress demands acknowledging shared responsibility for global inequality, war, and climate displacement.
- Wealthy nations must confront their historical complicity in the systems that force people to flee — including imperial wars, carbon emissions, and resource extraction.
“To rethink immigration is to rethink history itself — to replace fear with empathy, and exclusion with belonging.”
Conclusion
The editorial concludes that immigration must be redefined as a collective human experience, not a threat.
Instead of building walls, societies should build memory, justice, and solidarity, recognizing that mobility is a natural right, not a privilege.
By confronting historical amnesia — from Columbus’s conquests to Trump’s border politics — the world can begin to create a new moral geography of inclusion.
“Those who once invaded now guard their borders; those who once fled are criminalized. To heal this irony, humanity must remember — and move together.”