Thoughts on migration

A nation ringed by walls will only imprison itself.
—Barack Obama

The happy and powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune.
—Alexis de Tocqueville

A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in. And how many want out.
—Tony Blair

Recognise yourself in he and she who are not like you and me.
—Carlos Fuentes

I think that people should come to Australia through the front door, not through the back door. If people want a migration outcome, they should go through the migration channels.
—Tony Abbott

The truth is, immigrants tend to be more American than people born here.
—Chuck Palahniuk



The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources—because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.
—Lyndon B Johnson

No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.
—Warsan Shire

Now, where are [Mexican illegal immigrants] fleeing from? Mostly from Central America, where they’re fleeing from the results of our policies.
—Noam Chomsky

Where asylum is used as a route to economic migration, it can cause deep resentment in the host community.
—David Blunkett

It is time we recognised the huge contribution that migration has made to the economic growth of this country.
—Jeremy Corbyn

History in its broadest aspect is a record of man’s migrations from one environment to another.
—Ellsworth Huntington

Images: Blair: Brendan Mcdermid / Reuters; Obama: Carlos Barria / Reuters; Johnson: Bettmann / Getty Images; Chomsky: Jorge Dano / Reuters; Abbott: Edgar Su / Reuters; Corbyn: Darren Staples / Reuters