This series aims to give readers a basic understanding of the perplexing puzzles that the strange arithmetic of population poses to democratic systems today! In this fourth installment, we’ll explore migration-related issues, focusing on the conflict between locals and outsiders in the Western world, the rise of ethno-nationalism, Western cultural nationalism, and related topics...
Part 4: The Rise of Ethnic & Cultural Nationalisms in the West
In the previous part, we discussed in detail the neoliberal policies that bolstered Western economies, the welcoming political climate for migration, and the cultural blending that followed. The data we reviewed made it clear that the wave of migration to Western countries over recent decades has benefited both their economies and the migrants themselves. But, as nature’s rule goes, where there’s honey, there are stinging flies—and this case is no exception!
Take a moment from Donald Trump’s recent re-election campaign against Kamala Harris. Trump stirred up quite a storm by spinning tales about immigrants from Haiti, claiming they’d “devour your cats and dogs raw” to scare voters. He argued that Kamala and Biden were bringing in masses of illegal immigrants to destroy American culture, a stance that gave him a strong lead in the campaign.
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| Most Americans approve of increasing deportations, sending more U.S. troops to the Mexican border |
This issue was so potent that post-election analyses showed illegal immigration was one of the top concerns for voters. Even after Trump began deporting unauthorized immigrants, surveys reflected the same trend. For example, according to February 2025 data from the Pew Research Center:
- 59% of U.S. adults say they approve of Trump increasing efforts to deport people who are living in the U.S. illegally, including 35% who strongly approve.
- 74% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the Trump administration is doing the right amount to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Another 12% say it’s doing too little and 13% say it’s doing too much.
- Roughly nine-in-ten White Republicans approve of increasing federal deportation efforts (91%) and increasing the military presence on the border (92%).
- Among Hispanic Republicans, approval falls to 69% for increasing deportations and 75% for sending additional troops to the border.
This clearly shows that immigration is a deeply personal issue for Trump’s voter base. Riding this support, Trump’s administration has been aggressively deporting undocumented immigrants, sending back people from South America, Africa, India, and elsewhere. Hundreds of Indians were flown back—some with handkerchiefs tied to their wrists—and the political uproar it sparked here doesn’t need much explaining...
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvLWAvP2G1o |
Now, among Trump’s supporters, there’s some internal disagreement. One group, including folks like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, argues that migration is fine but should be legal and controlled. They say America should decide who, how many, and what kind of people to admit, ensuring they’re loyal to “American values”—the cultural principles deemed important. This approach could be called cultural nationalism or conservative nationalism. Essentially, it says that regardless of someone’s ancestral homeland, if they see America as their sacred land, come legally, and contribute to its prosperity, they should be allowed in.
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| https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/vivek-ramaswamy-says-legal-immigration-system-is-broke-in-us-6990029 |
If you’ve read Musk’s tweets or listened to Ramaswamy’s speeches, this perspective becomes quite clear. Then there’s another group—the ethno-nationalists. Some liberal left-leaning folks might label them as racists or worse, but for our discussion, understanding the issue matters more than pinning villains, so let’s stick with calling them ethno-nationalists for now and move forward!
Their argument is that people of European descent (fair skin, light hair, blue eyes, etc.) are already a shrinking minority globally. They claim educated Western women, swayed by liberal ideas, prioritize careers and pets over having children, causing birth rates to plummet and putting their demographic at risk. This fear led to a campaign where pop star Taylor Swift was mocked as a “childless cat lady” for supposedly embodying this trend!
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| U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) | Taylor Swift's Instagram post endorsing US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) |
That campaign gained so much traction that Trump’s current Vice President, J.D. Vance, spiced up the election trail by calling Kamala Harris a “puppet” of this “childless cat lady” brigade. In response, Taylor Swift wrote an open letter urging her fans to vote for Harris, posting it on Instagram with a photo of her beloved cat and signing off as “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”
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| https://www.instagram.com/p/C_wtAOKOW1z/ |
So, gripped by fears that this “educated women turning into childless cat ladies” trend will further shrink their population, these ethno-nationalists take a hard stance against migration—saying not just “no to illegal migration,” but also “keep legal migration minimal!” While Trump himself might not fully align with this view, a significant chunk of his supporters do, making it politically crucial...
This issue isn’t limited to America, of course. The U.S., especially under Trump, may be ahead of the curve, but echoes of this debate are heard in Canada and Europe too. Remember Brexit—the UK’s break from the European Union last decade? One of the key reasons behind it was unrestricted migration enabled by the EU. Similarly, Italy’s current Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, rose to power partly by taking a tough stance on immigration.
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| https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/16/nigel-farage-defends-ukip-breaking-point-poster-queue-of-migrants |
This shows just how tricky migration—a seemingly simple fix for declining birth rates—can be in practice! The Western neoliberal policies that used migration as a tool for economic prosperity have faced a direct challenge from this new nationalistic uproar over the past decade. It’s given rise to stricter visa rules, tariffs, and isolationist economic policies. Trump’s legal push against corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies is one such ripple. Culturally, it’s led to boycotts of Hollywood films showcasing racial diversity and a growing unease toward the art, music, cuisines, festivals, and traditions of minority or migrant communities.
In this series so far, we’ve studied birth rate math in Korea, explored the citizen-resident divide in the Gulf, and examined the Western neoliberal system that used migration to counter population challenges. Today, we’ve tackled the western nationalism debate. Before diving into India and Maharashtra-specific issues, we’ll take a closer look at women’s issues and feminism in the next part to better understand the complexities of the “childless cat lady” narrative. So, let’s meet again in the next installment—until then, take care!
