What went wrong with refugee advocacy?

For anyone working in migration or refugee advocacy, Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential campaign unfolded like a parade of abuses to denounce. In response to his promises to deport undocumented workers, vows to create a registry of Muslim immigration and pledge to halt refugee arrivals from Syria, aid groups blasted out positive messages. There were stories of immigrant success and sacrifice, hashtags such as #MigrantsWelcome, and social media campaigns proclaiming to “Stand with Refugees.”

Now, in the aftermath of Trump’s victory, advocacy groups are asking themselves where their messaging went wrong. All the stories and humanizing efforts failed to convince wide swathes of the U.S. public that refugees were worth embracing rather than scapegoating at the ballot box.

Those same strategies also backfired in the United Kingdom, where campaigners for leaving the European Union — a so-called Brexit — touted the need to have greater control of the borders. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s popularity has nosedived and popular opposition is growing in response to her welcoming stance toward refugees.