Immigration and refugee news
I can’t wait to read the new book by Julian Hattem, “Shelter from the Storm: How Climate Change Is Creating a New Era of Migration,” which releases on Jan. 6.
Hattem is currently the editor of Migration Information Source, the online magazine of the Migration Policy Institute, and founder and host of the podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration.
In Shelter from the Storm, Hattem tells the story of the massive human displacement that is already being caused by climate change.
Canada’s Liberal government “is pushing through sweeping new legislation targeting refugees that observers fear will usher in a new era of US-style border policies, fueling xenophobia and the scapegoating of immigrants,” the Guardian reports.
Bill C-12, or Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, “includes many changes around border security along with new ineligibility rules for refugee claimants,” the Guardian reported.
If it receives Senate approval in February, the bill will become law.
“It’s very regressive in terms of refugee protection,” said Idil Atak, a professor of refugee and human rights law at Toronto Metropolitan University.
As he prepares to step down after a decade as the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi sees “not only conflicts and emergencies affecting every region of the world, but also a crisis of global leadership, a failure of imagination and ambition, and a proliferation of populist speech that is numbing us to the plight of others,’ he writes in recent New York Times opinion piece.
He argues that greater support for countries that host refugees, particularly those with few resources, is needed.
“Ensuring that these countries can offer jobs, education, housing and other rights to refugees is not free, but it is a good investment. It gives refugees hope and a measure of stability. It enables them to become social and economic contributors. It equips them with the means to help rebuild their countries when they return home,” he wrote.
Refugee Council USA, Welcome With Dignity campaign, and the Evacuate Our Allies Steering Committee jointly led a broad coalition of 130 national, state, and local organizations in a letter to President Trump, urging the administration to immediately reverse the recent actions that have halted or severely restricted refugee, asylum, and visa processing, particularly for Afghans, Somalis, and nationals from the nineteen travel ban countries.
The letter expresses deep concern that these abrupt policy shifts – without transparency, evidence, or congressional oversight – are causing widespread fear, destabilizing families, skirting legal obligations, and undermining long-standing humanitarian commitments.
The organizations emphasize that collective punishment and vilification of Afghans, Somalis, refugees, asylum seekers, or immigrants writ large is not sound national security policy, and it does nothing to make our communities safer.
They call on the administration to restore normal processing, provide clear public guidance, and uphold the United States’ legal and moral obligations to people seeking protection.
President Trump is considering admitting far fewer refugees into the U.S. this year — as few as 7,500 — “a dramatic new low as the administration is conducting sweeping immigration raids as part of its mass deportation agenda,” the Associated Press reported.
The 7,500 figure is “a drastic decrease from the cap of 125,000 set by the Biden administration last year, according to a presidential determination dated Sept. 30 and signed by Mr. Trump,” the New York Times noted.
“The new limit would effectively shut the door to thousands of families waiting in camps around the world and refocus a program meant to provide sanctuary for those fleeing war and famine to support mostly white South Africans,” the Times reported.
A total of 78 national, state, and local organizations representing refugee resettlement agencies, direct service providers, faith-based groups, and human rights advocates on Sept. 16 released a joint letter to Congress calling for urgent action to restore the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and protect the most at-risk and vulnerable refugees around the globe.
The letter comes in response to troubling signals from the administration ahead of the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Presidential Determination (PD) on refugee admissions, amidst reports of discriminatory resettlement selection practices and significant cuts to refugee admissions with compelling protection needs, such as refugees already referred for U.S. resettlement, a news release related to the letter noted.
The letter urges Congress to exercise its appropriations and oversight authority and to pressure the administration to:
Yvette Cooper, the U.K. home secretary, “has been strongly criticised by refugee charities after announcing that she is suspending refugee family reunion applications – the system allowing people granted asylum to bring relatives to the UK – until new, tighter rules come into force next year,” reports the Guardian.
Cooper said the move “would mean refugees face the same restrictions as other migrants hoping to bring family to join them in the UK,” the BBC reported on its website. “This generally means someone must earn at least £29,000 a year and provide suitable accommodation, while their family member may need to demonstrate a basic level of English.”
Reuters recently published an article that weaves in the journey of a small rubber boat carrying 57 people who are trying to reach Europe from Libya into a broader narrative that highlights the continued dangers facing migrants who attempt to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.
“The rubber dinghy was one of more than 1,300 migrant boats that ran into trouble while trying to reach Europe by sea last year, according to figures provided by Alarm Phone,” writes Joan Faus, Mariano Zafra and Sudev Kiyada in their article.
The article highlights the Faustian bargain that European countries such as Italu have made with countries such as Libya, effectively handing off responsibility for reducing migration from Africa to countries that have documented cases of abuse of migrants.
The European Union’s economy “would have looked far weaker after the pandemic without foreign workers, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said Saturday, warning policymakers not to ignore migration’s role even as it fuels political tensions,” reports Bartosz Brzezinski in Politico.
The ECB president “argued that migration has played a crucial role in offsetting Europe’s shrinking birth rate and growing appetite for shorter working hours,” the Politico story said.
“Migration could, in principle, play a crucial role in easing” labor shortages as native populations age, Lagarde said. But “political economy pressures may increasingly limit inflows,” she said, according to a report in Fortune.
“At a time when many Western democracies are trying to keep immigrants out, Spain is boldly welcoming them in,” writes By Omar G. Encarnación, in a recent New York Times Op-Ed.
While the country’s low birthrate is one factor in its welcoming embrace of migrants that only tells part of the story, he notes. Spain’s “rich and complex history helps explain the relatively high level of tolerance for immigration among Spaniards.”
“Ultimately, however, Spain’s immigration politics owe most to the administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of the last exponents of social democracy in Europe. Although decidedly liberal, Mr. Sánchez’s approach is far from an experiment with open borders. Instead, it’s as pragmatic as it is deliberate. It’s true he has built-in advantages not shared by other European leaders. But by marrying practical solutions to an uplifting message, he has provided a case study in how to build support for progressive immigration policies,” writes Encarnacion.
Spain “is proving an important point: A generous immigration policy is not a threat to the nation or to a thriving economy. More than that, it is a resource for growth and renewal that Spain’s peers spurn at their cost,” he notes.
The Immigration and Refugee News Digest 