Hungary Tough on Immigration

A friend who watches Fox News writes: (Tucker) Carlson had an interesting interview with the prime minister of Hungary last night. They have solved the immigration problem with closed borders. I do not think that makes them a despicable group of people.

Well, Hungary is different than the U.S. in a number of ways.  Its people are, at least since the fall of the USSR, fiercely xenophobic, it’s a small country with easier-to-manage borders, and it’s a dictatorship, not unlike North Korea in many ways.  I’m sure the average Hungarian is not despicable, but it’s not a country that most Americans would want to emulate.

Another opinion: When we think of this country, we conjure images of the Danube, the awe-inspiring architecture of Budapest, and the euphoria of the Hungarian Rhapsodies.  On an aesthetic basis, don’t these people object to being surrounded by 1000+ miles of barbed wire?

On top of everything, Hungary has huge issues with discrimination (especially LGBTQ people), women’s rights, violence against women and girls, right to education, and, most notably, the right to seek asylum which is an international law, the same one the United States is flouting at its southern border.  They’re under constant pressure from the EU (and the rest of the civilized world) to knock this off, and stop behaving like the Middle East and Central Asia.

Most people don’t like to think they live in a pariah nation. Hungary isn’t widely regarded as such, but since Orban won reelection in 2018, it’s certainly teetering on the edge.