海角大神

It鈥檚 the kind of tale that turns even the most hardened nationalist soft.

His father arrived in Britain from Pakistan with nothing but a one-pound note in his pocket. But Sajid Javid听became a prominent banker and politician, and听now has risen to become Britain鈥檚 Home secretary, the first time a citizen with an ethnic minority background has assumed one of Britain鈥檚 four 鈥済reat offices of state.鈥�

Beyond an exemplar of the immigrant dream, Mr. Javid鈥檚 appointment to take charge of immigration and national security may also signal a shift in thought in migration politics overall.

Specifically, it is being viewed as a nod from the Conservatives that their restrictive policies may have gone too far, in some ways out of step with public attitudes听鈥� particularly in the wake of the Windrush controversy听that has dominated British headlines for weeks.听It shares some similarities with the political controversy surrounding the Dreamers, the estimated 1.8 million immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

Immigration has driven politics and divided publics for years,听from Britain across Europe to the US. In the UK, it鈥檚 the issue that decided Brexit, as Britons sought more control over immigration flows from other European Union states. Well before the issue of EU membership was put to voters, Prime Minister Theresa May held Javid鈥檚 post and shaped what she called a 鈥渉ostile environment鈥� for illegal immigration.

For that reason, there is skepticism that the government line on immigration will radically change. And Javid himself advocates for a hard Brexit and border for Britain. But he has assumed office hinting that he will reshape the atmosphere on immigration into one that is more 鈥渃ompliant.鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like the phrase 鈥榟ostile,鈥� 鈥� Javid said Monday. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 represent our values as a country to use that phrase. It is about a compliant environment, and it is right that we have a compliant environment.鈥�

The word 鈥渉ostile鈥� is at the heart of the cabinet shakeup that led to Javid鈥檚 new post in the first place. Ms. May and former Home Secretary Amber Rudd found themselves in a row over the so-called 鈥�Windrush generation,鈥� the Caribbean nationals who came to Britain after World War II to help rebuild the British economy. They were given leave to remain, but the government's documentation of their status was shoddy or went missing over time. As immigration policies hardened, particularly under May鈥檚 tenure as home secretary, some members of the Windrush generation and their descendants found themselves in legal limbo. [Editor's note: This paragraph was updated to further clarify the legal status of the Windrush generation.]

Ahead of the shakeup,听Javid had criticized their plight in deeply personal terms in a Sunday Telegraph interview. His own father arrived in the '60s, finding work as a bus driver. His mother never studied, so he sometimes had to take off time from school to translate for her. He told the paper:听鈥淭hat could be my mum ... it could be my dad ... it could be my uncle ... it could be me.鈥�

Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, an independent think tank that addresses integration and immigration, says Javid鈥檚 personal experience gives him legitimacy at the center of the debate. 鈥淗e is definitely on the pro-immigration and pro-integration side of the debate, which is a center-ground position in what is quite a polarized view.鈥�

He calls the appointment an opportunity to push the 鈥渞eset鈥� button on Britain鈥檚 immigration policies.

The second-generation immigrant, who became an MP after his banking career, has an inspiring backstory. But Matt Kilcoyne, head of communications at the Adam Smith Institute, a free-market think tank, says his story can also communicate a more positive message about immigration.

鈥淚'd like to think that Sajid鈥檚 family background, and his own career across the globe, help him to ... make the free-market case for immigration to convince the right in this country to back a more open and global policy on the issue,鈥� he says.

It鈥檚 unclear how much room he鈥檒l have to maneuver. Ms. Rudd didn鈥檛 stray from May鈥檚 positions in the Home office. She was forced to resign over the weekend, for having misled Parliament about whether her office set a target for deportations each year, which it did starting with May鈥檚 administration. Rudd and May both apologized for the unintended consequences to the Windrush generation.

But Rob Ford, who studies the politics of immigration at the University of Manchester, says that beyond bureaucratic mistakes, May鈥檚 policies have failed to reflect the nuances of British attitudes about immigration.

A recent YouGov poll shows that 63 percent of respondents think immigration into Britain in the past decades has been too high. But when respondents are asked about different kinds of immigration, in terms of origin or skills, their answers change. Over 70 percent of respondents said they want the same or even higher levels of skilled immigration, for example. A Sky Data poll last week found that 54 percent believe the suffering of Windrush migrants is 鈥渘ot a price worth paying.鈥�

鈥淭here is a basic sense of fair treatment that runs through what the public wants to see,鈥� Professor Ford says. Illegal immigration may be rejected for exploiting rules, but so too is harsh treatment of pensioners because, he says, 鈥渋t violates basic principles of justice.鈥�

鈥淭he mistake Theresa May has repeatedly made on migration policy is this assumption that any migrant will do when it comes to control, or enforcement or reduction of the numbers,鈥� Ford says. 鈥淭hat simply doesn鈥檛 hold up.鈥�

He draws a parallel to the political stalemate around the Dreamers. Polls show a majority of Americans agreeing with their right to remain in the country. But politicians talk of immigrants as a monolithic group deserving of a single, partisan response.

That鈥檚 where Javid may have a chance to navigate the complexities of public opinion. 鈥淛avid鈥檚 view would be that immigration is economically and culturally beneficial to Britain,鈥� says Mr. Katwala, 鈥渂ut as a politician he knows he鈥檚 got to bring the public with him, and he鈥檚 got to take seriously the way people feel about high immigration, so he has to strike those balances.鈥�