10 million initiative: Two young politicians with a migration background – two opinions

Muhammed Eymen Ari (16) and Damien Dubreuil (17) are currently working intensively on the 10 million Switzerland initiative. But while Dubreuil is fighting for a yes vote, Ari is representing the no slogan. Here the two young politicians talk with a migration backgroundwhich are the most important arguments for them, and take a position on the opposing side.

Pro-argument Damien Dubreuil: “Trains overcrowded, roads overloaded”

Damien Dubreuil: «The 9 million mark has already been exceeded, and forecasts suggest that we could reach the 10 million mark in the next few years. This growth is primarily due to immigration. Housing is becoming scarcer and more expensive. Our trains are overcrowded. The roads are overloaded. The emergency rooms are at their limit. Health insurance premiums increase year after year. Municipalities and cantons have to invest more and more money in infrastructure just to keep up with population growth.”

Reaction Muhammed Eymen Ari: “According to forecasts, the limit of 10 million inhabitants would not be reached until between 2040 and 2050 at the earliest. The emergency rooms are working hard – not because of immigration, but thanks to it. 40 percent of our doctors and 33 percent of our nursing staff come from abroad. Without these people, our hospitals would not be able to maintain regular operations. Immigration creates additional capacity instead of overloading it.”

Contra-argument Muhammed Eymen Ari: “Humanity is missing”

Ari: “‘We called for workers, but people came.’ Not an election poster – but Max Frisch. What was literature back then is reality today: Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Hayek, Stan Wawrinka – Swiss people with a migration background who have shaped our country. It is precisely these biographies that the initiative wants to make impossible. What is missing in this voting campaign is not numbers, but humanity. There is no rigid population limit. She forgets the reality that these ‘foreigners’ that people are talking about are also people who want to move our country forward – and will.”

Reaction Dubreuil: “The sustainability initiative does not prohibit migration or immigration. Even if this is accepted, 40,000 net people will still be able to immigrate to Switzerland each year. In addition, the mechanism would only take effect when the population reaches the threshold of 9.5 million inhabitants. For me, humanity doesn’t just mean thinking about those people who want to come. Humanity also means thinking about those people who already live here.

Pro-argument Damien Dubreuil: “Impact on security”

Dubreuil: “The majority of people with a migrant background live peacefully, work hard and respect the rules. But we shouldn’t pretend that there aren’t any problems, as cases like the terrorist attack in Winterthur show. Do we really want to bring more and more people into the country and at the same time pretend that this has no impact on security and social cohesion? In various European countries we see the consequences of failed integration, parallel societies and a policy of looking the other way.”

Reaction Ari: “To cite security as an argument is, to put it politely, wrong. By adopting the initiative we would lose access to the Schengen Information System (SIS). This would leave our police virtually blind when it comes to pursuing terrorism, gangs or cartels. The Dublin Agreement would also be terminated. This means that asylum seekers who have committed crimes in the EU or who have been rejected in the future could submit a new asylum application in Switzerland.”

Counter-argument Muhammed Eymen Ari: “Initiative is populist”

Ari: “The initiative seems more like populist propaganda than fact-based solutions to real everyday problems. She wants to regulate the asylum system, even though asylum migration only accounts for 14 percent of immigration. Proponents provide confusing answers to critical questions about the termination of Schengen/Dublin or the free movement of people. What is clear are the costs: According to a study commissioned by the Federal Council, the AHV would lose billions, tax revenue would fall more than expenditure, and the shortage of skilled workers in the healthcare system would worsen.

Reaction Dubreuil: “It’s not populist if you think about the fact that a small Alpine country can’t accommodate the whole world. Furthermore: The sustainability initiative does not automatically lead to the termination of the free movement of people. Termination would be the last resort if the population still exceeds the 10 million mark. And when it comes to costs: people talk far too rarely about what high population growth costs. New school buildings, new roads, new railway capacities, new hospitals, etc.”

Anja Zingg (anz), has been working at 20 Minuten since 2020. She has been head of the Society & Community department since June 2023.