From Belfast to Washington, a familiar script of the ‘dangerous migrant’ has emerged

In many cases, a single, shocking crime allegedly involving a foreign-born suspect was quickly reframed into a broader indictment of minorities.

By: Donathan L. Brown, Northeastern University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 24, 2026

Words: 1,425

Last Updated: 4 weeks, 1 day ago

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By Donathan L. Brown, Northeastern University

It tends to start with a violent assault. Then video documentation of the incident quickly circulates online, priming people to see not just an individual crime but a broader story about perceived dangerous outsiders.

So it was on June 8, 2026, when an assailant badly injured a man in an evening knife attack in Belfast. Within hours, a graphic video of the assault was all over social media, and masked …

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