Are babies the acceptable face of immigration?

Sam Leith When they eventually do — if they do — the jobs they take will be low-paid, depressing wages across the board and putting experienced native workers out of employment.

And yet do you see any mainstream politicians saying: no more; we are swamped; this country is full up? You do not. When talk turns to this sort of immigrant, even supposedly hardheaded realists — it’s not about us and them; it’s the numbers — wax sentimental. Tough guys who’d like to turn Li t hu a ni a n f r ui t - pi c ker s , Al ge r i a n plumbers and refugees from bloody sectarian wars away at the point of a gun become positively gooey.

In fact, as part of the mainstream media’s propaganda machine the bienpensants at Channel 4 have made several series of a programme dedicated to celebrating their arrival in the country, complete with high production

When talk turns to this sort of immigrant, even supposedly hard-headed realists wax sentimental

values and tear-jerking music. One Born Every Minute? I’ll say.

Every mainstream party urges some version of a quota system to limit the number of living human beings — with the full panoply of hopes, fears, vulnerabilities and potential — who can come here from failed or struggling states. Yet every mainstream political party is committed to offering limitless places to refugees from the benign and infinitely populous state of non-existence. It’s almost as if we find it easier to love the idea of our fellow man than the real thing.

I have a much better idea: let’s levy punitive taxes on people who insist on having children, and then spend the money giving food and shelter to Libyan boat people.