Opening: The Night in the Enclave of Ceuta, and the Uproar on the Chinese Internet
Recently, a video went viral online:
On the coastline of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, a dense crowd of people gathers. Hundreds, even thousands, of young Moroccans brave strong winds and rough seas, swimming through the water and even climbing over barbed wire, desperate to set foot on European soil at any cost.
This crisis erupting at the border instantly ignited Chinese social media.
Browsing the comment sections, the condemnation is almost unanimous:
“Isn’t this just a legalized invasion?”
“Europe will be destroyed by these illegal immigrants sooner or later!”
“Stop with the bleeding-heart sentimentality, suppress and deport them all immediately!”
After seeing all the anger online, my biggest feeling is this: many people are not rationally discussing immigration policy, but are using the easiest, most label-driven way to understand an extremely complex real-world issue.
I don’t deny that every country has the legitimate right to maintain border security and combat illegal crossings. National sovereignty is inviolable, and the rule of law must be upheld.
But, beyond the legal statutes, can we still see the “person”? Beyond the barbed wire, can we still understand “humanity”?
1. The Pursuit of a Better Life is an Instinct Etched in Our Genes
In the natural world, geese fly south, and wildebeest migrate. Essentially, it’s all for survival.
To put it bluntly, the thousands of years of human civilization are a history of migration, a story of “fleeing harm and seeking advantage.”
Some flee war, some escape hunger, and some seek to earn tuition for their children’s education.
In this world, if there were any way to live a stable life, no one would willingly leave their home to risk drowning in the sea for an unknown future.
When we look down from our high ground at the backs of those climbing the fences, we should first ask:
If their old lives hadn’t been completely devoid of hope, why would they risk their lives to leave home?
Sympathizing with them doesn’t mean condoning illegal acts; it means acknowledging a fundamental fact—everyone hopes for safety, dignity, and a future. This is the most basic human nature.
2. Don’t Equate “Illegal Entry” with “Heinous Criminal”
In many people’s minds, several completely different concepts are often conflated:
Illegal Entry = Criminal Offense = Moral Depravity.
This is a form of cognitive laziness.
Illegal Entry: A violation of a country’s administrative regulations on immigration management.
Robbery, Rape, Drug Trafficking: Criminal offenses that harm the personal and property safety of others.
The nature of the two is completely different.
A person who enters illegally is not necessarily a bad person; a person with completely legal status could very well commit monstrous crimes.
What should truly be condemned and punished are criminal acts that harm others, not the complete negation of a person’s character because of their administrative status.
Strictly upholding the rule of law and respecting basic human dignity have never been mutually exclusive.
3. Why Do Many Chinese People “Hate” Immigrants More Than Many Local Europeans?
An interesting phenomenon: the reaction of many Chinese netizens to immigration issues is often more intense than that of the Europeans living in the midst of it.
Why? Because the context is completely different.
China has long not been a typical immigrant country. The vast majority of people grow up in a monocultural, mono-ethnic environment, accustomed to a highly homogeneous social order.
Therefore, for us, “different” often implies “danger” and “loss of control.”
But Europe is different.
Take Spain, for example. It is itself a society of multiple ethnicities and cultures intertwined.
On the streets of Madrid or Barcelona, Moroccans, Colombians, Chinese, Ukrainians, and Senegalese living together is already a part of daily life.
Of course, there are anti-immigrant voices in Europe, and they are loud. But the vast majority of Spaniards, when discussing the issue, are able to make more nuanced “social categorizations”:
Which are the illicit operations of smuggling rings that must be cracked down on?
Which are the undocumented but long-term law-abiding workers who need proper settlement?
Which are the genuine refugees who need humanitarian aid?
Which are the small minority of criminals who must be severely punished according to the law?
Being able to distinguish these complexities is the rational thinking a mature society should have, rather than simply shouting “kick them all out.”
4. Immigrants Don’t Just “Drain Welfare,” They Also Prop Up the Economy
One of the most popular views online is: “Immigrants are just here to grab welfare and tear society apart.”
But the real economic calculation is far more complex than that.
Spain has long faced an ultra-low birth rate and severe aging. If the supply of young labor were completely cut off, many industries would instantly collapse:
Construction sites, farm harvesting, delivery and logistics, restaurant kitchens, elderly care, urban cleaning…
Behind these dirty, tiring, and difficult jobs are vast numbers of immigrant laborers.
They are not just consuming; they are working, paying taxes, renting homes, consuming, and driving the economy. For a country with a shrinking population, a moderate supplement of immigrants is essentially a “lifeline” that keeps society running.
What a country should really be thinking about is not “how to completely shut the door,” but “how to manage the door efficiently.”
5. Race and Origin Do Not Determine a Person’s Destiny
When you mention Spain, many people think of one of the most dazzling young talents in football today—Lamine Yamal.
He was born in an ordinary immigrant community in Spain; his father is from Morocco, and his mother is from Equatorial Guinea.
Today, he wears the jersey of the Spanish national team and has become the pride of the entire nation.
What does Yamal’s story tell us?
A person’s family background does not determine their upper limit.
Children from immigrant families can also become scientists, doctors, engineers, or heroes representing their country on the world’s biggest stage.
The mark of a great society is not scrutinizing where a person’s parents come from, but whether it can give every child who grows up on its soil an equal opportunity.
6. True Civilization: Maintaining Borders While Preserving Rationality and Warmth
Some people say: “If you speak up for illegal immigrants, you are undermining the rule of law!”
That’s not it at all.
A healthy, mature society is perfectly capable of doing the following:
Cracking down hard on smugglers and human trafficking networks;
Deporting those who do not meet the criteria or have criminal records, without leniency;
Providing humanitarian care to protect women and children who are truly suffering;
Guiding integration and providing a legal pathway for law-abiding undocumented workers.
Rule of law and tolerance have never been a one-way street where you must choose one or the other.
The issue of immigration involves economics, politics, demographics, human rights, and many other aspects. It is extremely weighty and incredibly complex.
We can support strengthening border control, and we can also call for cracking down on illegal crossings.
But we really don’t need to demonize all strangers out of fear, nor should we completely erase an ordinary person’s dignity to live because of their status.
Extreme labels and emotional outbursts cannot solve any crisis at the border.
Within the framework of the rule of law, maintaining rationality, order, and a final ounce of empathy perhaps requires more wisdom and courage than shouting “all illegal immigrants get out.”