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. 

Read the full letter here.