I have been collecting public opinion in one way or another since 1997. In that time, one person has responded to a formal question telling me that they think we are too unkind to immigrants in general. Being told that the asylum system is too lax is a weekly event at best, often a daily one, sometimes by representatives of ethnic minority groups who are concerned that a flawed asylum system is giving political space for a code attack on all former foreigners and their families.