Some things in politics truly are complicated and require some nuance, but others are actually rather simple. For instance, when the population of a town nearly doubles overnight because of a mass swarm of illegal immigrants, the only rationale response is to send them back. However, PBS/CNN host Christiane Amanpour declared on her Thursday The Ex Files podcast that the aftermath of July’s Cueta, Spain migrant crisis is “a very tricky one.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez notwithstanding, Amanpour began by lamenting that Europe in 2026 is different from the Europe of 2015, “The Spanish Prime Minister mobilized police and all sorts of others and they went, they—most of them had to go back. But the answer to the question is that it freaked Europe out. It really freaked Europe out. It was almost like nightmares of what had happened in 2015 when Syrian refugees, remember, made the long march from their—I was going to say internment camps— but their real hardship inside Syria during the war and various places that they had been stopped on route to try to come to Europe.”
Continuing with her lament for a previous era, Amanpour added, “And they came along that trail which took them to Hungary and then tried to get into Germany. And in fact, many of them did. Hungary put up a fortress but many, about a million or so, got into Germany and then Chancellor Angela Merkel said, ‘We can do this. We can let them in.’ And it's true. They could do it. They did let them in, but it led to a massive political backlash which just a year later led to Brexit, led to Trump, led to the current manifestation of the fear and loathing over immigration.”
PBS/CNN host Christiane Amanpour rewinds a couple of weeks to the storming of Cueta and says on her podcast, "And it's a very tricky one. And it has the possibility of empowering, for instance, in Spain, the far-right, the opposition, and elsewhere, you know, in Germany and… pic.twitter.com/pDK5Q4tBLL
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) August 21, 2026
Getting back to July’s crisis, Amanpour lamented that other Europeans have piled on Sanchez because, according to her, the issue is actually more complicated, “And this time with the Ceuta ‘invasion,’ although that's a bad word to use, clearly it has political context and is used by, you know, generally the far-right and the opponents of immigration. All the European leaders, many of them really got on the case of the Spanish Prime Minister to get this situation under control. And it's a very tricky one. And it has the possibility of empowering, for instance, in Spain, the far-right, the opposition, and elsewhere, you know, in Germany and France where there's real fears that the far-right may make inroads.
Turning to Clinton diplomat/co-host/ex-husband Jamie Rubin, she wondered, “Jamie, what do you think about all of this? It's raised the ugly head of immigration, although what we do need is managed immigration to fill the demographic hole that's happening in the United States and very pronounced here in Europe.”
Rubin agreed, “Right, this is the most sensitive, probably, issue of our time in terms of—other than artificial intelligence, where there is everyone knows that the issue has to be handled responsibly, but there's an incredible fear and loathing that is created by one side of the debate, which is to create the perception that there's going to be a horde, an invasion, a swarm, a changing of our culture. And I think it's a hard subject.”
However, Rubin also tried to concede that critics have a point, “The substance of it is very, very difficult to get legal immigration right and to get illegal immigration right isn't easy. And it's going to be a problem that governments are going to deal with for a long, long time. You're absolutely right. The Syrian refugee crisis. I was there in London. We were living together then. It really was used by the supporters of Brexit and there was a — daily headlines every single day of refugees coming into Greece or coming into Italy. And it really looked like an invasion.”
Yet, Rubin also claimed, “And so it is an area where irresponsible behavior can exaggerate the problem. On the other hand, there has to be a way to distinguish between those refugees that have a genuine fear of being killed and should be taken in for humanitarian reasons. And those who are just trying to improve their lot. And the world is not a fair place.”
While it was nice Rubin conceded that asylum can’t be given to anyone who simply wants to enter for economic reasons, lost in all of this was the fact that Europe started experiencing a sharp rise in jihadist terrorism starting in 2015. Amanpour and Rubin can talk about labor demographics all they want, but until they reckon with that fact, European politics will look less and less like Pedro Sanchez.
Here is a transcript for the August 20 show:
Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files
8/20/2026
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: A couple of weeks ago, tens of thousands of Moroccans and other immigrants and people who, you know, wanted to get into Spain and Europe actually breached the frontier of a Spanish territory on the North African coast of Morocco.
And then they had to be immediately sent back. The Spanish Prime Minister mobilized police and all sorts of others, and they went, they—most of them had to go back. But the answer to the question is that it freaked Europe out. It really freaked Europe out. It was almost like nightmares of what had happened in 2015 when Syrian refugees, remember, made the long march from their—I was going to say internment camps— but their real hardship inside Syria during the war and various places that they had been stopped en route to try to come to Europe.
And they came along that trail which took them to Hungary and then tried to get into Germany. And in fact, many of them did. Hungary put up a fortress but many, about a million or so, got into Germany and then Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "We can do this. We can let them in." And it's true. They could do it. They did let them in, but it led to a massive political backlash which just a year later led to Brexit, led to Trump, led to the current manifestation of the fear and loathing over immigration.
And this time with the Ceuta “invasion,” although that's a bad word to use, clearly it has political context and is used by, you know, generally the far-right and the opponents of immigration. All the European leaders, many of them really got on the case of the Spanish Prime Minister to get this situation under control. And it's a very tricky one. And it has the possibility of empowering, for instance, in Spain, the far-right, the opposition, and elsewhere, you know, in Germany and France, where there's real fears that the far-right may make inroads.
Jamie, what do you think about all of this? It's raised the ugly head of immigration, although what we do need is managed immigration to fill the demographic hole that's happening in the United States and very pronounced here in Europe.
JAMIE RUBIN: Right, this is the most sensitive, probably, issue of our time in terms of—other than artificial intelligence, where there is everyone knows that the issue has to be handled responsibly, but there's an incredible fear and loathing that is created by one side of the debate, which is to create the perception that there's going to be a horde, an invasion, a swarm, a changing of our culture. And I think it's a hard subject.
The substance of it is very, very difficult to get legal immigration right and to get illegal immigration right isn't easy. And it's going to be a problem that governments are going to deal with for a long, long time. You're absolutely right. The Syrian refugee crisis. I was there in London. We were living together then. It really was used by the supporters of Brexit and there was a — daily headlines every single day of refugees coming into Greece or coming into Italy. And it really looked like an invasion.
And so it is an area where irresponsible behavior can exaggerate the problem. On the other hand, there has to be a way to distinguish between those refugees that have a genuine fear of being killed and should be taken in for humanitarian reasons. And those who are just trying to improve their lot. And the world is not a fair place.
