The increase in right wing populist parties in Europe combined with the sudden influx of asylum applicants has given rise to the debate regarding immigration both politically and within research. This paper sets out to examine the relation between asylum seeker group size and people’s attitudes towards immigration. Based on group threat theory and ethnic competition theory we hypothesize that countries´ increases in asylum seekers is correlated with decreases in attitudinal support for immigration. We test this hypothesis using cross- national time series survey data from the Eurobarometer from 2014 to 2017 and conducting a multilevel analysis. Despite the extensive theoretical arguments that strengthen the hypothesis, we find no evidence that the group size of asylum seekers is related to attitudes towards immigration from outside EU.

Bakgrund: Under 2015 ansökte 35 369 ensamkommande barn om asyl i Sverige, vilket var en kraftig ökning jämfört med tidigare och senare åren. Det fanns tidigare brister i socialtjänstens ansvarsutövning gentemot ensamkommande barnen även under normala omständigheter. Vi har undersökt om socialtjänsten kunde tillgodose barnens behov och rättigheter i enlighet med socialtjänstlagen och barnkonventionen efter att så många asylsökande barn anlände i Sverige i en kort tid år 2015. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att studera hur har socialsekreterarna inom socialtjänsten upplevt och utfört sin roll och ansvarsutövning angående ensamkommande barn som anlänt i Sverige år 2015 och senare. Vår frågeställning var: Hur har socialtjänstpersonalen utfört sin ansvarsutövning gällande integrationsprocess av ensamkommande barn som har kommit till Sverige 2015 och senare? Metod: Undersökningen gjordes genom kvalitativ metod med 20 semistrukturerade intervjufrågor som formulerades och ställdes till nio utvalda erfarna social/barnsekreterare i Göteborgsregionen. Intervjuerna genomfördes på distans antingen digitalt eller telefonledes på grund av rådande Corona pandemin och spelades in och sedan transkriberades. Resultat: Respondenterna upplevde situationen under flyktingvågen 2015 som ”stressig”, ”jättetuff”, ”kaotisk” och ”överbelastande” då varken kommuner eller samhället var förberedd för ett sådant stor inflödet av flyktingar. Konsekvensen blev då att ensamkommande barnens basala behov såsom socialhandläggare, god man och boende ombesörjandes inte i god tid. Barnens integrationsprocess påverkades negativt och osäkerhet kring asylprocessens orsakade psykisk ohälsa hos ensamkommande barnen. Socialtjänstens ansvarsutövning angående ensamkommande barnens integration och empowerment var således bristfällig i början som förbättrades under senare åren. Slutsats: Socialsekreterarna kunde inte följa sina riktlinjer utifrån socialtjänstlagen under hösten 2015. De var tvungna att prioritera barnens basala behov såsom boende och ekonomiskt stöd över integrationsprocessen under en lång och stressig period då det saknades boende, skola med mera. Det blev dock bättre senare när kommunen anställde fler socialsekreterare, tolk och god man. / Background: Statistics shows that 35 369 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in Sweden in 2015. It was a dramatic increase in number of asylum seekers as compared to the previous years and the following years. There were insufficiencies in performance of Social Services regarding unaccompanied children in previous years under normal circumstances. We wanted to study if the Social services were able to meet the basic needs and rights of the unaccompanied children in accordance with the Social Services Act and the UN’s Children’s Convention after the huge influx of asylum seekers in Sweden in a short span of time in 2015. Objective: The purpose of our research was to study the experiences of personnel of The Social Services about their performance of their duty regarding integration and empowerment of unaccompanied children who have come to Sweden in 2015 and onwards. Our question formulation was: How have the personnel of the social services performed their duties regarding integration of unaccompanied children who have come to Sweden in 2015 and onwards? Method: Qualitative method was chosen for this study in which we formulated a questionnaire consisting of 20 semi-structured questions and interviewed a group of nine experienced social workers in Gothenburg region. The interviews were done digitally or by telephone due to Corona pandemic. All the interviews were recorded and then transcribed. Results: The respondents had experienced the situation in 2015 as “stressful”, “very tough”, “chaotic” and “overwhelming” as neither the counties nor the society at large was ready for such a huge influx of refugees. As a consequence, the basic needs of the unaccompanied children were not fulfilled, such as right to shelter, and allocation of case officers and legal guardians were delayed. It had a negative effect on the children’s integration process and uncertainty about their asylum process had caused psychiatric illness. Conclusion: The social workers could not follow their guidelines of in accordance with The Social Services Act in 2015. They were instead forced to prioritize the basic needs of the children, such accommodation, daily expenses and school over integration and empowerment. It got better, however, as the situations improved later on as the counties had employed more social workers, interpreters and legal guardians.