"The migrants" vs "migrants"

It's interesting, watching the BBC Newsnight debate on immigration in the EU and many other TV/radio programmes, and hearing anti-immigration spokespeople / UKIP councillors etc. refer to migrants as "THE migrants". This may seem petty, but I think it is a really nuanced and subtle (and unconscious) way of separating us and them. The continual use of the definite article here does something that I can't quite put my finger on, but it gives a really subconsciously negative feel to the term. A bit like "The blacks" vs "black people".

Obviously, there is a time and a place to be specific and use the definite article, but the continual use belies something deeper.

For example, if I was to constantly refer to ginger people as "THE gingers", there would be a consistent negative connotation that primes the listener.

I think this says a lot about such commentators.