Earlier quoted context omitted.
Preferring to hire people from already in your own country would be patriotic rather than isolationist. That's not xenophobia though because there's no irrational or intense fear of foreigners. That is unless "xenophobia" has been perverted to now mean anything that isn't hardcore globalist.
What's an objective reason to hire someone born locally vs someone born abroad? Apart from saying "patriotism", what other advantages does it offer?
Well you have culture first of all, bringing in people from different cultures can lead to animosity and interpersonal conflict at times. Not to mention divise social groups that can occur when you hire alot from one particular country.
That and language, I have worked with devs and testers who just didn't have a great grasp on the english language which lead to a lot of frustration on both sides as we probably used half our jira comments clarifying/confirming what the other person meant.