The Racialized Welfare Discourse on Refugees and Asylum Seekers: The Example of “Scroungers” in Italy

The rise of anti-immigrant racism over the past two decades has taken place through multiple mechanisms and processes, including resurgence welfare racism, which been re-functionalized towards refugees asylum seekers. As a key weapon today’s sovereignism white supremacism, “return” is intrinsic to neo-liberal an integral part global process erosion social rights, weakening citizenship, dismantling state. Welfare racism—a combination racial discrimination in system racialized discourse—operates discriminatory laws measures related benefits public discourses depicting refugees, immigrants, people color as parasites scroungers sponging off last decade seen specific spread against seekers dual war on This article examines ideological-discursive dimension (that is, discourses, rhetoric, images), first analyzing development, dimensions, characteristics discourse more generally, then focusing about contemporary Italy. It explores arguments conceptual metaphors seekers, revealing devices dynamics at play construction refugee “scrounger” abuser. Furthermore, it highlights consequences policies (particularly controls), migration immigration controls internal relationship between citizens migrants, receiving societies, newcomers.