Deep Dive: The Great Replacement Theory

The 2024 election season has been characterized by lies and conspiracies about immigrants. Among the most pernicious is that there is an “invasion” at the U.S.-Mexico border of immigrants who are poised to change the demographic nature of the country. This lie, in combination with other dehumanizing comments that falsely blame immigrants for economic struggles and crime, is being used to stoke hatred and fear — with devastating consequences.

One particularly dangerous conspiracy, the Great Replacement Theory, alleges a plot to replace white populations of the U.S. with non-white immigrants. Once relegated to the darker corners of the internet, the Great Replacement Theory entered the mainstream in the late 2010s when it inspired mass shootings and the 2017 “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Seven years later, the Great Replacement Theory is arguably more prevalent than ever in American politics — a hateful ideology espoused on some of the biggest political stages in the country.

In the latest edition of HIAS’ Deep Dive series, we consider the Great Replacement Theory — and its connection to HIAS — in greater detail.

What is the Great Replacement Theory?

The Great Replacement Theory is a white nationalist conspiracy theory that dangerously and falsely asserts that Jews and others are orchestrating the deliberate replacement of white Americans with non-white immigrants and people of color.

Proponents of the theory frequently refer to the arrival of immigrants as an “invasion,” an absurd characterization proffered by xenophobic politicians and media figures.

The Great Replacement Theory is at once anti-immigrant and antisemitic. In 2017, at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, right-wing marchers shouted “Jews will not replace us” in clashes with protesters, an explicit antisemitic tie-in to the extreme xenophobic movement. In 2018, a violent white supremacist entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and murdered 11 people after posting an angry screed online that accused HIAS of facilitating the migration of “hostile invaders” who would kill “his people.”

Where does the Great Replacement Theory come from?

The origins of the Great Replacement Theory, of course, go back much further than the events of 2017 and 2018. In fact, it is arguably as old as racism and antisemitism themselves. In the late 19th century, a prominent French journalist warned that Jews would “destroy” French culture, resonating with the eugenics movement in the United States that sought to sterilize Black Americans for population control purposes. At many moments in U.S. history, Jewish immigration itself was characterized by politicians as an invasion in order to incite fear and hatred.

The term “Great Replacement Theory” was popularized in 2011 with the publication of Le Grand Replacement, a book by French author and conspiracy theorist Renauld Camus that claimed that “elite” figures within the French government were facilitating Muslim immigration in order to dilute France’s white, Christian population and identity. In the United States, the theory has more explicitly focused on Jews and on immigrants.

What are the consequences of the Great Replacement Theory?

The Great Replacement Theory has led directly to violence and hatred against Jews, immigrants, people of color, and those who support immigrant rights. The mass murderer chose Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, in part, due to the congregation’s participation in HIAS’ Refugee Shabbat program. The Unite the Right protest the previous year resulted in the killing of Heather Heyer, a counter-protester, while crowds of rallygoers brandished torches and swastikas. The man who attacked a Chabad center in Poway, California, in 2019 — killing one person and injuring more — accused Jews of “destroying the white race.” The man who murdered 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019 was inspired by The Great Replacement Theory. So was the man who conducted a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in 2022.

Beyond mass shootings, the rhetorical device of referring to migration across the U.S.-Mexico border as an invasion — a trope that’s inextricably linked to the Great Replacement Theory — has found its way into dozens of pieces of anti-immigration legislation. “Invasion” rhetoric has also informed the pernicious falsehood that migrants are arriving to commit voter fraud at scale. The notion of replacement has fueled the hate-filled hysteria directed at Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and widespread support for mass deportation. There is a sharp rightward shift in immigration policy and rhetoric now that now exists across almost the entire U.S. political spectrum.

Why is The Great Replacement Theory being used to attack HIAS?

HIAS is the international Jewish organization providing services to refugees and displaced people in over 20 countries. Given its role at the nexus of Jewish identity and assistance for refugees, it is not surprising that HIAS has found itself targeted by proponents of The Great Replacement Theory.

In recent months, white nationalist media figures and influencers have deliberately shared misinformation about HIAS’ operations in the hopes of furthering their own xenophobic, antisemitic, and racist agendas as well as profiting financially from spreading hate.

As always, it is important to combat these dangerous smears with essential facts about HIAS. Our work to support refugees in 24 countries is motivated by our values of welcome and empathy — our belief that each person is deserving of kindness and of home.

These accusations will not deter HIAS from pursuing its mission of providing vital services to refugees, asylum seekers, and other forcibly displaced and stateless people around the world.