When it comes to politics, if the issue of immigration did not exist, one would wonder what some candidates would talk about during election campaigns. As a matter of fact, during the past few years in Europe, it has been the bread and butter of right-wing and far-right parties, which have gained a lasting foothold thanks to their xenophobic, anxiety-provoking rhetoric. A Lepenized France, a Melonized Italy and an Orbanized Hungary are striking examples, among many others. Today, however, the spotlight is on the US, where Donald Trump has made attacks on illegal immigration a central plank in his bid to win back the White House. This strategy may seem surprising, given the historic role of immigration in the shaping of this nation. Ironically, on July 13, at 6:11 p.m., candidate Trump was just beginning his open-air speech to a crowd by making a head movement ... toward a board of immigration statistics, when a bullet hit his right ear. His head movement toward the immigration data brought him good luck. He could have been hit in the head. Some saw it as a sign that immigration was indeed the card to play to defeat the Democrats. Previously reluctant in the face of such unbridled racism, Republicans are today asking for more. Clearly, excess pleases people. It is true that the US is facing record levels of illegal migration, with 250,000 arrests on the Mexican border in December last year, but an immigration bill negotiated by both parties was ultimately rejected by Republicans in Congress — at Trump’s request. One thing is for sure: this massive spike in illegal immigration is generating anxiety and anger among the population. Just like everywhere else. There are an estimated 700,000 homeless people in America, along with 13 million undocumented immigrants. This phenomenon affects housing, crime, employment, hygiene, living conditions, safety and more. To remedy this situation, Trump is putting his foot down. If he wins, he proposes the mass deportation of at least 10 million undocumented immigrants (what the French far-right calls “remigration”), National Guard intervention on the border, the establishment of huge detention centers and the resumption of construction of the wall on the Mexican border. His program was unveiled in a shocking interview with Time magazine in April. “We’ve seen what happened when Europe opened their doors,” he added in May in Wisconsin. “Look at Paris, look at London — they"re no longer recognizable.” His diatribes are aimed at voters who are put off by illegal immigration. Furthermore, he unabashedly mixes immigration and terrorism, as he has already done with the “war on terror” and Muslim immigration. He even associates immigration with job losses — a sensitive subject in the former heartland of industrial America, where the idea that immigrants take jobs away from nationals has gained ground. By playing on “national preference,” which is dear to the followers of Marine Le Pen in France, Trump is pitting one against the other. One thing is for sure: this massive spike in illegal immigration to the US is generating anxiety and anger among the population. Azouz Begag The National Rally (formerly the National Front) has been successfully experimenting with this in France since the 1970s. And it works. When it comes to immigration and foreigners in general, xenophobic rhetoric has been used for centuries. In politics, scapegoats are unavoidable. In support of his campaign and just days after that assassination attempt, Trump last week introduced J.D. Vance as his running mate. Vance is a 39-year-old senator who is also ruthless on illegal immigration and migrants. His wife Usha, whom he met at Yale, is a lawyer of Indian origin. Despite her resume, some in the “MAGA” world are embarrassed by her skin color and their three mixed-race children. This is what is happening in the US. This great country is becoming, before the eyes of the world, an immense laboratory for political experimentation, where the figure of the migrant, the word “immigration,” the foreigner, the poor and the exile are trampled in public to serve humanity’s worst purposes. No, it is not immigration that poisons a country, it is racism. Azouz Begag is a writer and former minister (2005-2007), researcher in economics and sociology. He is a researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research. X: @AzouzBegag