ABSTRACT
In 1991 at the European Community (EC) summit Prime Minister John Major spoke ominously of the "rising tide" of immigrants, warning that "we must not be wide open to all-comers just because Rome, Paris and London are more attractive than Bombay or Algiers" (The Independent, June 29, 1991. London). A week earlier large numbers of Albanians were deported from Italy, and the French government forced illegal migrants to return to North Africa. The Guardian (June 29, 1991: 7) reported that "Britain has so far refused to sign the (Schengen) accord, arguing that there are few gains and only the enhanced risk of encouraging cross-border terrorism, drugs, crime and illegal immigration."
