Pointing to the modest level of international migration, its long history and the acceptance of immigrants by some sections of host populations, a number of social scientists, deemed ‘cautious optimists’, have suggested that fears about international migration are exaggerated or irrational. However, there are real-life consequences of irrational beliefs and credible reasons for concern. Certain long-term demographic, cultural and social trends are likely to validate the views of the cautious optimists, but there is a yawning gap between the present and the future, the contemporary period being marked by the dramatic rise of anti-immigration parties and movements. This gap has been filled by performative politics and largely ineffective measures designed to placate public opinion. Mainstream politicians have displayed a distinct poverty of the imagination, substituting slogans and rhetoric for effective policies.