Angry activists who descended on a Falkirk hotel were met by hundreds of counter protesters.
Two separate demonstrations were called by the Save Our Future and Our Kids Futures group in the town on Saturday, amid fears of local people about alleged crimes linked to those housed at the Cladhan Hotel.
The first saw hundreds gather outside the office of Labour MP Euan Stainbank, where speeches were made, and people took aim at the UK Government, the police and journalists who were covering the protest.
More than 200 people later assembled outside the nearby Cladhan Hotel, which is believed to house asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be processed.
The group, which was bolstered by a steady stream of people coming from the previous demonstration, was met by about 200 counter-protesters from the trade union movement and the campaign group Stand Up To Racism.
Exchanges quickly became tense, as both sides engaged in personal abuse and threats were hurled.
Police separated both sides behind barriers, with the counter protesters in what appeared to be a car park for the hotel and the protesters on the opposite pavement.
Euan Stainbank, Scottish Labour MP for Falkirk, said the current asylum system was not working for anyone.
He said: “We must fix the broken asylum system which has not worked for years – for communities such as Falkirk, and for those seeking refuge from persecution.
“The Labour Government’s actions, within days of entering office, to end the Tories’ Rwanda scheme, focus resources on processing claims and ending needless processing pauses will allow us to close all the Tory-created asylum hotels during this Parliament.
“Further action, which I voted for – such as blocking refugee status for those convicted of a sexual offence – have been taken forward in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which was opposed by the Tories and Reform.”
Mr Stainbank said the UK Government’s approach had reduced the asylum backlog by 59,000 since the start of the year.
He added: “I know several people are concerned about disruption in the town centre this Saturday and I’ve been working to seek assurances from the authorities on their behalf.
“My door is always open to speak to people face to face about asylum policy or any other matter, running over 70 surgeries since being elected last year.
“That is why I’m disappointed that the group behind this protest have yet to accept my offer of a meeting, despite our offer of a meeting being made within minutes of them getting in touch directly last week.”
The protest is the second in as many weeks outside the Cladhan Hotel.
Another took place outside a facility in Perth last week as tensions have risen in Scotland at the housing of asylum seekers in hotels.
On Monday, polling suggested concerns over immigration were in the top three issues of concern for Scots.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage used an appearance in Scotland to say he thought immigration would become a wider issue north of the border ahead of the Holyrood election next year.
