Seventy years ago when the Windrush generation began arriving, British society did not roll out the red carpet. Today’s anger at their treatment by this government is an inverse response to the discrimination and racism they faced. As horror grows at how America is treating immigrant children, we must ask what we are each doing to make sure today’s new arrivals to Britain are not facing a hostile environment.

Many on the right and left accept without question the idea that people coming to the UK for work or for sanctuary is somehow out of control. Backing the benefits of immigration to our economy and our communities has become dangerously unfashionable. Building walls not bridges has become the approach, but it is not the answer. As the far right strengthens and Donald Trump’s visit draws near, Labour must break this spell before it permanently damages all our prospects.

Attacking refugees and immigrants has become a go-to response to the agonies of the modern world. Trump’s racist bile spews on and offline, infecting our body politic. The new Italian government talks of “rounding up” Roma residents and deportation. Here, in the rush to Brexit, EU citizens carry the blame for faltering social mobility above austerity. In every era populists have always found “the other” a useful foil. Never mind that evidence suggests immigration is linked to higher levels of social mobility or that crime has fallen. Moral panic and a scapegoat for why life is tough generate better headlines.

Each generation has to renew and rebuild the social contract that recognises being an open and compassionate society is better for everyone. But talking technical detail about what immigration does for us – bringing new ideas, new investment and new capacity – only reinforces that how we respond is often not about facts but feelings. If we want Britain to be both economically savvy and culturally cohesive, then we should respect that diversity does bring difference and that can be disconcerting. Whether taking in refugees fleeing despots or welcoming new communities to our shores to work, it means change and disruption to what we know.

Those who pitch this as metropolitan London versus the rest of the country do a disservice to all. As someone who grew up in the north, lived in small-town Essex, and now represents an area with large refugee and immigrant communities, I have learned that it’s not the people but the politicians who help or hinder life chances. Every day in my community we tackle the pressures, tension and benefits of change – not just for those who have lived here for a long time, but between new arrivals too.

Blame for getting any of this wrong should lie squarely with us, not those seeking a new life wherever it may be in Britain. Failure to plan for new school places, new jobs and even new public services is not cause to turn our backs either on those who need sanctuary or who offer vital capacity to our economy. It is cause to demand better from our leaders in making sure all – those born here and those who come here – are able to contribute to our shared success. To be concerned about change in your hometown is not racist. To be sold the idea that immigrants or refugees should pay the price for dysfunctional politics isn’t progressive.

As the default debate becomes about whether immigration is a good or bad thing, other questions also go unanswered. Whatever the level of immigration, Britain has to grapple with the changing nature of work in a global economy. In the push to discard freedom of movement, political parties risk looking like they are using immigrants to cover up an inability to be honest about how and why the world is changing.

Now is the time to be open about what will – and what won’t – offer the public and their children more chances in a time where money, information and individuals circulate at the touch of a button. Exploitation isn’t caused by immigrants, and removing them won’t stop it – only better regulation and unionisation will. Similarly, restricting the ability of UK citizens to work in other countries will do little to make them more employable – either at home or abroad.

With our nursing and doctor shortages, the population ageing and tax revenues needed to fund future public service investment, “turning off the tap” of people coming to help address these issues is economic and social suicide. Theresa May talks of celebrating the diversity of Britain’s history, while holding hands with Trump. Labour should stand up for the diversity of Britain’s future, to show who really is the nasty party.

• Stella Creasy is the Labour MP for Walthamstow