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A '''migrant '''is "a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. The term includes a number of well-defined legal categories of people." -[https://www.iom.int/who-migrant-0 International Organization for Migration]
A '''migrant '''is "''a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. The term includes a number of well-defined legal categories of people.''" -[https://www.iom.int/who-migrant-0 International Organization for Migration]


'''Migrant justice '''is "''a movement that calls for an end to displacement, detainment, and deportations; the fight for immigration status for all migrants, refugees, students, workers, and undocumented people." -''Radical Action With Migrants in Agriculture & Migrant Rights Network, adapted by Michelle Xie  <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HC35f2kDXc8cgLYWc9_oUZmINoTfP3_I</ref>
== Examples of people who would be defined as migrants ==
== Examples of people who would be defined as migrants ==
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*Canada accepted 621,565 international students in 2021.
*Canada accepted 621,565 international students in 2021.
*International students pay significantly higher tuition fees to study, plus face restrictions on the amount of labour they can provide to meet the cost (no more than 20 hours per week).  <ref>https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html</ref>  
*International students pay significantly higher tuition fees to study, plus face restrictions on the amount of labour they can provide to meet the cost (no more than 20 hours per week).  <ref>https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html</ref>  
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| style="width: 19.6976%; background-color: rgb(153, 225, 217);" | '''Internal migrants'''
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*Sometimes, communities are forced to migrate within borders. An example in Canada is the city of Yellowknife, where 20,000 people were forced to evacuate due to forest fires.  <ref>https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadian-firefighters-race-flames-evacuate-yellowknife-2023-08-18/</ref>
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==Understanding why migrant justice is climate justice==
== Migrant justice is a climate justice issue ==
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<span style="color: #ffffff;">'''Disability justice is describes as...'''</span>
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*"'''All bodies are valuable, hold beauty, and are deserving of care'''. This extends to our community bodies, to the bodies of our plant and animal kin, and to our shared planetary body itself, the earth." -[https://www.sinsinvalid.org/news-1/2022/7/7/disability-justice-is-climate-justice Sins Invalid]
*'''Every body is integral''' to any movement toward justice. [[Ableism]] believes that some bodies are superior to, and thus more valueable than, other bodies. -[https://www.sinsinvalid.org/news-1/2022/7/7/disability-justice-is-climate-justice Sins Invalid]
*"Disabled people are not disabled due to their impairments, rather they are '''disabled by structural and systemic barriers''' within society." -[https://www.soas.ac.uk/study/blog/disability-and-climate-justice-how-create-more-inclusive-movement Jake Clarke]
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<span style="color: #ffffff;">'''Disabled people are marginalized and are equally deserving of liberation'''</span>
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*'''80% of disabled people live in the Global South''', regions most impacted by the climate crisis and exploitation.  <ref>https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-with-disabilities.html</ref>
*"From homeless encampments to local jail cells, the social, political, and economic disparities among disabled queer and trans people of colour put our communities at the '''frontlines of ecological disaster'''.” -[https://truthout.org/articles/disabled-people-cannot-be-expected-losses-in-the-climate-crisis/ Patty Berne]
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'''<span style="color: #ffffff;">Environmental racism and natural disasters cause disabilities</span>'''
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*"If we ask ourselves why Black and brown communities have higher rates of asthma, we also must look at where they live." -[https://ssir.org/articles/entry/climate_change_environmental_activism_and_disability Daphne Frias] for Stanford Social Innovation Review.
*Injuries obtained living through a natural disaster (e.g. earthquakes, hurricanes etc) or from being exposed to toxic chemicals (e.g. Mercury, see [[environmental racism]]) may cause acute or chronic disability.
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| style="width: 21.7495%; background-color: #c51f84; border-color: #000000; height: 28px;" | '''<span style="color: #ffffff;">Natural disasters disproportionately harm disabled and other marginalized people</span>'''
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*'''Structural barriers become a matter of life or death during disaster.''' People with disabilities are 2-5 times more likely to die in a natural disaster.  <ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/sfrost/2020/07/06/deadly-discrimination/?sh=39051e92b93b</ref>
*"'''When we aren’t included before disaster strikes, how will we be effectively accommodated during a crisis?" '''"Risk is created that could have been planned for and perhaps avoided."-[https://ssir.org/articles/entry/climate_change_environmental_activism_and_disability Daphne Frias] for Stanford Social Innovation Review&nbsp;<br>
* '''Disability justice is migrant justice.''' "[https://wid.org/2018/09/26/climate-related-migration/ Climate change is accelerating forced migration] at a time when disabled people find it increasingly difficult to cross borders — not simply because of the physical demands, but also because of political opposition." -[https://truthout.org/articles/disabled-people-cannot-be-expected-losses-in-the-climate-crisis/ Julia Watts Belser]
*** Disabled people may be unable to enter countries because their diagnosis or condition is considered 'burdensome'. -[https://truthout.org/articles/disabled-people-cannot-be-expected-losses-in-the-climate-crisis/ Julia Watts Belser]
*** Migrants may struggle to access the services they need (health services and long-term medical, financial, and social support). -[https://rootedinrights.org/its-time-to-recognize-climate-change-as-a-disability-rights-issue/ Tiffany Yu]
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Specific examples include:
*"Some members of the disability community are especially '''vulnerable to extreme heat''' events due to increased sensitivity to keeping our body temperatures cool enough." -[https://rootedinrights.org/its-time-to-recognize-climate-change-as-a-disability-rights-issue/ Tiffany Yu]
*'''Natural disaster can cut electricity''', "which is especially problematic because so many disabled people need electricity-powered medical equipment to survive." -[https://rootedinrights.org/its-time-to-recognize-climate-change-as-a-disability-rights-issue/ Tiffany Yu]
*'''Droughts and flooding cause food and water insecurity'''. "Because of other social factors like the [https://disablepoverty.org/what-is-disable-poverty/ disproportionate number of disabled people who are caught in an endless poverty cycle], the disability community is especially vulnerable during these shortages." -[https://rootedinrights.org/its-time-to-recognize-climate-change-as-a-disability-rights-issue/ Tiffany Yu]
*'''Disabled people may be unable to evacuate''' from disaster and/or '''may lose "critical mobility and accessibility devices''' (wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes, hearing aids, communication devices)." -[https://rootedinrights.org/its-time-to-recognize-climate-change-as-a-disability-rights-issue/ Tiffany Yu]
*Post-disaster, "the prospect of '''rebuilding a home that had been built around an individual disabilit'''y can also be daunting and expensive ― particularly considering disabled workers typically [http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/27/7-facts-about-americans-with-disabilities/ earn significantly less] than their able-bodied counterparts." -[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/in-natural-disasters-a-disability-can-be-a-death-sentence_n_5c1ba22ee4b0407e9077eb58?guccounter=1 Jenavieve Hatch for Huffington Post]
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<span style="color: #ffffff;">'''Eco-ableist messaging can reinforce oppression'''</span>
<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'''Climate change is increasing the frequency of migration  <ref>Climate and migration. (2015). Exploring climate, disasters and migration. [Online podcast]. https://climatemigration.org.uk/podcast-when-people-move-understanding-how-climate-change-creates-the-movement-of-people/</ref>  '''</span>
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*"Prioritizing personal ownership of environmental impacts over corporate responsibility fuels [[ableism]] and discrimination toward people with disabilities."-[https://ssir.org/articles/entry/climate_change_environmental_activism_and_disability Daphne Frias]
*Rapid onset disasters have, and continue to, increase in frequency and severity from the climate crisis. Hurricanes, flash floodings and forest fires usually leave little or no time for affected communities to plan their migration to a safer place. They have to leave for their immediate survival; they have no choice.&nbsp;
***For example, many disabled people rely on delivery services for food, personal items and other things. It is not the fault of disabled individuals that large corporations do not use environmentally-friendly packaging. See our eco-ableism section of [[ableism]] for more.
*Slow onset disasters made worse from the climate crisis, like desertification, sea level rise, change in rainfall patterns etc. have long-term effects on the livelihoods and life quality of communities. In these cases, people are forced to migrate to find better living conditions elsewhere.
***Disability is one of the first forgotten or first attacked experiences when discussing climate accountability or solutions. It's important to recognize disabled people caring for their needs are not to blame for the climate crisis. '''True accountability lies in those hoarding resources and wealth (the ultra rich).'''
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| style="width: 21.7495%; background-color: #c51f84; border-color: #000000; height: 51px;" | <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'''Further marginalization of oppressed communities upon forced migration'''</span>
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*For example, forest fires in Yellowknife, Canada in 2023 forced over 20,000 people to evacuate. Houseless people were not included in evacuation plans. People were ordered to leave, but many did not have access to vehicles. Thousands of people, with a high proportion being Indigenous, were forced to wait for flights and were not told where they were being evacuated to. The cost of 2-hour flights rose to nearly $5000, when they normally sit at around $300, and should have been free to evacuate residents. People living in poverty and racialized people became further marginalized.<br>
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| style="width: 21.7495%; background-color: rgb(197, 31, 132); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); height: 28px;" | <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'''The right to migrate'''</span>
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*Discriminatory immigration policies based on criteria, such as education, language, work ability and more, must withdrawn from current immigration systems. "Status for all" demands permanent status to all newcomers in any given country, and to all migrants who are waiting for their status or simply not registered in their host country.  <ref>Migrant Rights Network. 2023. About Migrant Rights Network. https://migrantrights.ca/about/</ref>  &nbsp;
*Migrant justice movements ask for the countries who contributed the most to climate change to welcome climate migrants with inclusive policies. These countries should also support financially the countries most affected by climate change to improve their adaptative capacity, rather than leaving migrants with no safe options.  <ref>Greenfield, N. (2022). Climate migration and equity. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/climate-migration-equity</ref>
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'''<span style="color: #ffffff;">There is no climate justice without addressing immediate survival needs</span>'''
<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'''Access to work and social services'''</span>
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*"'''Disabled people are so busy just surviving.''' We have to self advocate all the time for access to employment, education, benefits or healthcare. It means unless there is a flood at my door I’m not thinking about the climate so much. We need to get people out of poverty because you can’t do anything about the climate if you are completely ostracised from participating in regular life.” -[https://twitter.com/PaulineCastres Pauline Castres]<br>
*Due to a lack of migration strategies in most affected countries and cities, migrants rarely receive proper assistance. Migrants are also at risk of facing social and environmental injustices in their new community. <ref>Fukuchi, A. n.d. No borders: There is no environmental justice without immigrant justice. https://www.no-burn.org/no-borders-there-is-no-environmental-justice-without-immigrant-justice/</ref>
*"When issues like discrimination, access to adequate healthcare, unemployment, and poverty are among our top concerns, climate change tends to be an afterthought. When we are fighting for basic human rights and equality, how do we have time to think about climate change? '''Being concerned about and fighting for climate justice is a privilege.'''" -[https://rootedinrights.org/its-time-to-recognize-climate-change-as-a-disability-rights-issue/ Tiffany Yu]
*Leaving their way of life behind, climate migrants have less employment options in their new city. Migrants are at high risk of poverty, houselessness and food insecurity.  <ref>Ahsan, R. (2019). Climate-induced migration: Impacts on social structures and justice in Bangladesh. South Asia Research, 39(2), 184-201.</ref>
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| style="width: 21.7495%; background-color: #c51f84; border-color: #000000; height: 51px;" | '''<span style="color: #ffffff;">'Survival of the fittest' is an oppressive mindset</span>'''
| style="width: 21.7495%; background-color: #c51f84; border-color: #000000; height: 51px;" | <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'''The right to self-determination'''</span>
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*'''Accepting the loss of some lives to the climate crisis as 'inevitable' is oppressive.''' "We aren't just talking about physical vulnerability; [[ableism]], racism, class inequality and other forms of oppression work together to compound and intensify risk." -[https://truthout.org/articles/disabled-people-cannot-be-expected-losses-in-the-climate-crisis/ Julia Watts Belser]<br>
*Many communities affected by climate change want the option to stay in the place they call home or, if they are forced to leave, the option to return eventually. It is mandatory not to exceed the 1.5 °C threshold to limit the impacts of the climate crisis, which force people to leave their homes.  <ref>The Leap. 2019. Migrant justice is climate justice. https://theleap.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Migrant-Justice-is-Climate-Justice-4.12.19.pdf</ref>
*'''Access to wealth makes it easier to evacuate, and white supremacy translates "into the political clout and communal resources that make climate disruptions more survivable in the first place''' — better infrastructure, [https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/toxic-wastes-and-race-at-twenty-1987-2007.pdf less exposure to environmental hazards] and more robust public assistance during and after crisis." -[https://truthout.org/articles/disabled-people-cannot-be-expected-losses-in-the-climate-crisis/ Julia Watts Belser]
*'''We all deserve to have our needs met on a planet that has enough resources, but that are hoarded by a minority. '''Capitalism describes disabled individuals as a drain on our resources. In contrast, it is capitalism that drains us, and drains the earth's resources.&nbsp;
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=== Success story: Mongla, Bangladesh  <ref>Alam, J. 2022. For climate migrants in Bangladesh, town offers a new life. https://apnews.com/article/immigration-climate-science-business-environment-f12044741514a62ca3f4fd692bf006d0</ref>    ===
The city of Mongla in Bangladesh is a great example of an inclusive welcoming for climate migrants. The city offers a job to all newcomers and is working actively to integrate them in schools and universities. This has improved the integration of migrants in their new community. New climate-resilient infrastructures was also built to improve the adaptative capacity of the city, and to protect the population.&nbsp;
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<br>'''A special thanks to Laury Ouellet for their tremendous support compiling content for this page.'''
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<br>If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.
<br>If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.

Latest revision as of 22:11, 11 March 2024

A migrant is "a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. The term includes a number of well-defined legal categories of people." -International Organization for Migration

Migrant justice is "a movement that calls for an end to displacement, detainment, and deportations; the fight for immigration status for all migrants, refugees, students, workers, and undocumented people." -Radical Action With Migrants in Agriculture & Migrant Rights Network, adapted by Michelle Xie [1]

Examples of people who would be defined as migrants

Migrant workers

  • In 2021, Canada had 777,000 workers on temporary work permits. [2]
  • Migrant workers are typically paid low wages, and are not provided with adequate living conditions. They perform labour in sectors that Canadian citizens are less inclined to fill based on poor working conditions (i.e. agriculture, accommodation and food services, administrative and waste management and remediation services). [3]

Refugees

  • Refugees may be smuggled into another country to flee unsafe living conditions.
  • For example, due to restrictions on immigration at the Mexican border, even those fleeing dire conditions are detained when caught at the U.S. border.
International students
  • Canada accepted 621,565 international students in 2021.
  • International students pay significantly higher tuition fees to study, plus face restrictions on the amount of labour they can provide to meet the cost (no more than 20 hours per week). [4]
Internal migrants
  • Sometimes, communities are forced to migrate within borders. An example in Canada is the city of Yellowknife, where 20,000 people were forced to evacuate due to forest fires. [5]

Migrant justice is a climate justice issue

Climate change is increasing the frequency of migration [6]

  • Rapid onset disasters have, and continue to, increase in frequency and severity from the climate crisis. Hurricanes, flash floodings and forest fires usually leave little or no time for affected communities to plan their migration to a safer place. They have to leave for their immediate survival; they have no choice. 
  • Slow onset disasters made worse from the climate crisis, like desertification, sea level rise, change in rainfall patterns etc. have long-term effects on the livelihoods and life quality of communities. In these cases, people are forced to migrate to find better living conditions elsewhere.
Further marginalization of oppressed communities upon forced migration
  • For example, forest fires in Yellowknife, Canada in 2023 forced over 20,000 people to evacuate. Houseless people were not included in evacuation plans. People were ordered to leave, but many did not have access to vehicles. Thousands of people, with a high proportion being Indigenous, were forced to wait for flights and were not told where they were being evacuated to. The cost of 2-hour flights rose to nearly $5000, when they normally sit at around $300, and should have been free to evacuate residents. People living in poverty and racialized people became further marginalized.
The right to migrate
  • Discriminatory immigration policies based on criteria, such as education, language, work ability and more, must withdrawn from current immigration systems. "Status for all" demands permanent status to all newcomers in any given country, and to all migrants who are waiting for their status or simply not registered in their host country. [7]  
  • Migrant justice movements ask for the countries who contributed the most to climate change to welcome climate migrants with inclusive policies. These countries should also support financially the countries most affected by climate change to improve their adaptative capacity, rather than leaving migrants with no safe options. [8]

Access to work and social services

  • Due to a lack of migration strategies in most affected countries and cities, migrants rarely receive proper assistance. Migrants are also at risk of facing social and environmental injustices in their new community. [9]
  • Leaving their way of life behind, climate migrants have less employment options in their new city. Migrants are at high risk of poverty, houselessness and food insecurity. [10]
The right to self-determination
  • Many communities affected by climate change want the option to stay in the place they call home or, if they are forced to leave, the option to return eventually. It is mandatory not to exceed the 1.5 °C threshold to limit the impacts of the climate crisis, which force people to leave their homes. [11]

Success story: Mongla, Bangladesh [12]

The city of Mongla in Bangladesh is a great example of an inclusive welcoming for climate migrants. The city offers a job to all newcomers and is working actively to integrate them in schools and universities. This has improved the integration of migrants in their new community. New climate-resilient infrastructures was also built to improve the adaptative capacity of the city, and to protect the population. 


A special thanks to Laury Ouellet for their tremendous support compiling content for this page.

If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


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  1. ↑ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HC35f2kDXc8cgLYWc9_oUZmINoTfP3_I
  2. ↑ https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220622/dq220622c-eng.htm
  3. ↑ https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220622/dq220622c-eng.htm
  4. ↑ https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html
  5. ↑ https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadian-firefighters-race-flames-evacuate-yellowknife-2023-08-18/
  6. ↑ Climate and migration. (2015). Exploring climate, disasters and migration. [Online podcast]. https://climatemigration.org.uk/podcast-when-people-move-understanding-how-climate-change-creates-the-movement-of-people/
  7. ↑ Migrant Rights Network. 2023. About Migrant Rights Network. https://migrantrights.ca/about/
  8. ↑ Greenfield, N. (2022). Climate migration and equity. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/climate-migration-equity
  9. ↑ Fukuchi, A. n.d. No borders: There is no environmental justice without immigrant justice. https://www.no-burn.org/no-borders-there-is-no-environmental-justice-without-immigrant-justice/
  10. ↑ Ahsan, R. (2019). Climate-induced migration: Impacts on social structures and justice in Bangladesh. South Asia Research, 39(2), 184-201.
  11. ↑ The Leap. 2019. Migrant justice is climate justice. https://theleap.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Migrant-Justice-is-Climate-Justice-4.12.19.pdf
  12. ↑ Alam, J. 2022. For climate migrants in Bangladesh, town offers a new life. https://apnews.com/article/immigration-climate-science-business-environment-f12044741514a62ca3f4fd692bf006d0
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