Here in the UK there has been a revival of the anti-immigration debate recently - mostly in regard to the prospect of more eastern european immigrants arriving when the EU is enlarged. Neil Davonport writes a robust counter in Spiked-Online to 'today's new anti-immigrant sentiment among the political class, sections of the media, liberals, greens and the left'. He argues for an open-door policy on immigration, saying that 'People from Poland to Peru, Estonia to Ethiopia, should be allowed to come and live and work in Britain as they see fit.' My agreement with this might be partly because I too am an immigrant in the UK, yet I'm constantly surprised to hear other immigrants express concerns about immigration. Also, I think the current influx of Poles to the UK, shows how on a practical level an open-door policy can work well - see the Observer article So far, migrant workers have been just the job. But on a more philosophical level, I also agree with Davenport that 'immigration controls are a disagrace and a menace to freedom, liberty and prosperity.' This is the same whether in the UK or in NZ.
Here's some more recent articles from British newspapers about immigrants in the UK:
Up at 5am, work till you drop: the immigrant's story
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
The new immigrants: 'If you don't want us here, we'll take our skills and go'
http://news.independent.co.uk
If we send them home, then who'll do the dirty work?
http://observer.guardian.co.uk
They come over here and fix our teeth: foreign workers help to ease dentist crisis
http://news.independent.co.uk
Britain is enriched by its Poles of growth
http://www.timesonline.co.uk