Justice migratoire

Un personne immigrante est « une personne qui s'éloigne de son lieu de résidence habituel, que ce soit à l'intérieur d'un pays ou à travers une frontière internationale, de manière temporaire ou permanente, et pour diverses raisons. Le terme englobe un certain nombre de catégories juridiques de personnes bien définies ».-International Organization for Migration

La justice migratoire est « un mouvement qui demande la fin des déplacements, des détentions et des déportations ; la lutte pour un statut d'immigration pour tous les personnes immigrantes, les personnes réfugiées, en situation d'étude, de travail ou sans-papiers. » -Radical Action With Migrants in Agriculture & Migrant Rights Network, adapté par Michelle Xie

Exemples de personnes pouvant être définies comme des personnes immigrantes

Personnes travailleuses migrantes	En 2021, le Canada comptait 777 000 personnes titulaires d'un permis de travail temporaire. Celles-ci sont généralement mal payés et ne bénéficient pas de conditions de vie adéquates. Elles travaillent dans des secteurs que les personnes citoyennes du « Canada » sont moins enclines à occuper en raison des mauvaises conditions de travail (agriculture, hébergement et restauration, services administratifs, gestion des déchets et services d'assainissement).
Personnes réfugiées	Les personnes réfugiées peuvent être introduites clandestinement dans un autre pays pour fuir des conditions de vie dangereuses. Par exemple, en raison des restrictions à l'immigration à la frontière mexicaine, même les personnes fuyant des conditions désastreuses sont détenues lorsqu'elles sont arrêtées à la frontière américaine.
Personne étudiante de l'étranger	Le Canada a accueilli 621 565 personnes étudiantes de l'étranger en 2021. Celles-ci paient des frais de scolarité nettement plus élevés et sont soumises à des restrictions quant à la quantité de temps de travail qu'elles peuvent fournir pour couvrir les frais (pas plus de 20 heures par semaine).
Personnes migrantes internes	Parfois, les communautés sont contraintes de migrer à l'intérieur des frontières. Un exemple au Canada est la ville de Yellowknife, où 20 000 personnes ont été forcées d'évacuer en raison d'incendies de forêt.

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Migrant justice is a climate justice issue

Climate change is increasing the frequency of migration	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.   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.
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. 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.
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.

Success story: Mongla, Bangladesh

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.

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