Dr Scott Blinder on the new politicisation of student immigration

Scott Blinder has been commenting in various media about the increasing politicisation of the issue of student immigration.

In Times Higher Education (13 September) he has written a short piece entitled The immigration equation: will it ever add up?, in which he says Until recently, international students were counted in international migration statistics but they were rarely thought of as immigrants, politically or by policymakers. As recently as 2006, government initiatives under Tony Blair tried to bring more international students to Britain, even as the Labour government aimed for stricter controls over immigration.

He goes on to ask: So what changed? Public concern over illegal and bogus immigrants, in tandem with Conservative numerical targets for net migration, have made international students a primary immigration target.

This features as part of an article on the controversy surrounding the London Metropolitan University losing its right to admit non-EU students. An article in the Christian Science Monitor (6 September) also features comments from Scott on this issue.

A report from the Mirgration Observator (of which Scott is director) on understanding public opinion on immigration in Britain was also mentioned in The Guardian (12 September), in an article entitled 10 myths of the UKs far right.