Some observers believe that one of the root causes for the war in Syria is climate change. Starting in the first decade of the current century, drought and warmer temperatures in Syria pushed about 1.5 million people to move from their farms into cities. This more volatile atmosphere helped lead to war.
So one effect of climate change may be to increase competition for scarce resources. Increased competition = more wars = more refugees.
Another source of climate refugees is rising sea levels. As the water rises, certain areas and certain countries might become uninhabitable. People will have to be relocated. Many will be able to move within their own countries, but others will be forced to leave their homelands.
The potential for mass movements of people across national borders is very real, and some experts predict that the new flow of climate refugees will dwarf anything we’ve seen thus far. That’s a scary thought, and for those of us involved in refugee resettlement, it represents an existential challenge: If tens or hundreds of millions of people are on the move, how do we accommodate them?
And what about the current international legal regime? By definition, a refugee is a person who cannot return to his country owing to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or particular social group. Many people fleeing Syria can meet this definition (some of our cases, for example, are shoe-horned in by presenting the claim as one based on imputed political opinion—even if they are not politically active, the Syrian government believes they are political opponents and that is enough for a grant). However, people who flee because their homes are flooded or because their crops have failed are not “refugees” as that term has been defined in international and U.S. domestic law. They are not being “persecuted” by anyone, except perhaps Mother Nature, but I don’t think that counts. So what do we do with them?
As we’ve seen with the exodus from the Middle East to Europe and, on a smaller scale, from Central America to the U.S., the mass movement of people creates many challenges—social, economic, political, and moral. There is also great resistance by many segments of the community to accepting large numbers of foreigners. If that is the case, what will become of the new climate refugees? Will they be confined to UN-supported camps in the countries of first arrival? Will they remain in such places indefinitely? What is the end game for people who can never return home? How will the world order be affected by millions of stateless refugees, who live without hope and who may become a destabilizing influence on the host countries?
Of course, I have no answers to any of these questions. Given the state of the problem today (over 59 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide, including about 19 million refugees) and the number of people who are annually resettled (about 626,000 were recognized as refugees or received some form of protection), I am not optimistic that we will accommodate millions more refugees in some dystopian (but probably not distant) future. One thing is true, if we see much larger numbers refugees in the world, we will have to deal with them in some way.
One solution is to close our doors and try to keep the problem as far away from home as possible. This is essentially the path favored by several main-steam restrictionists groups. Indeed, the Center for Immigration Studies (“CIS”) and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (“FAIR”) both originated from concerns about immigration and the environment. The leading founder of these groups, John Tanton, viewed the mass movement of people as a threat to the environment, and favored restricting immigration as a way to protect the environment. It also happens that he was a bit of a white supremacist, but I suppose that is not particularly relevant to the environmental argument.
As you might guess, I am not a fan of the environmental argument (or the white supremacist argument, for that matter). People who move from poor countries to rich ones probably use more resources in their new homes than if they’d stayed put, but they also have a better quality of life and they generally enrich the societies they move into (in 2014, for example, immigrants made up 12.9% of the U.S. population, but started 28.5% of new businesses). I am not sure how to balance this with the environmental impact, but when you add in the fact that many people are fleeing persecution or environmental disaster, the balance for me tips in favor of protecting people by allowing more migration.
That said, I’m also not convinced that the U.S. and Western Europe can or should absorb millions of new refugees. There is a limit to how many people we can resettle and still maintain our social cohesion. I am not sure what that limit is, though it seems clear that we can do more than we are doing now. But the West cannot do it alone–if we see mass migrations due to climate change, the task of assisting and resettling people will need to be distributed across the globe.
As a father and an uncle (and a person who is generally rooting for the human race), I hope that the world’s leaders will make genuine efforts to curb global warming. As someone concerned about refugees and migration, I hope that we will respond to climate refugees with compassion. Climate change is a great challenge to mankind. I hope that we can meet that challenge and retain our humanity.
Hi mr.jason i am a somalian refugee who lives in cairo .my case was pending for 8 monthes and i recived a denial as matter of discretion for security related resonse .i was kidnapped twice in somalia and they used me to wash their clothes i was the victom i have married a somali man who has a green card and have 3 year old child he want to sponser us but i am afraid of the pevios denial and i do not even know why i was denied the only thing l had in my case was a kidnapp so i think that is the reson sorry for my bad english what can you advice me for our sponser if it will affect it or not thank you for your help
I am posting something later today on this topic. If you “washed clothes” for the kidnappers, it might be considered “material support” of terrorism (even though it was not your choice – it is a very stupid law). That could be the reason your refugee case was denied. If you get married to the man, he can sponsor you to come to the US, but you will need a “waiver” for your “material support” problem. Check back late today or tomorrow, and you can see my new post, which will have some links that may help you. Take care, Jason
Dear Sir,
My name is Su am from Ethiopia.i am living in maryland ,its been a year and 3 months since i filed my asylum case and i am on a pending status.currently my wife back home is very sick and i am not sure by now where she will be going to thialand or dubai for further treatment.
So i am about to apply for a travel document,but a lawyer told me that having a travel document doesn’t guarantee my return to US,am confused since the government issued the travel document why wouldn’t they allow me into US when i return back?
Is there anything i can do before i leave ?am streseed and i really need to be next to her.
There are no guarantees – for example, a visa does not “guarantee” entry into the US. In general, though, the Advance Parole document should allow you to re-enter. Maybe you can check with the airline – as long as you can get on the plane, you will get back here. If you arrive in the US at the airport and the customs officer wants to deny you entry, you can ask asylum at the airport and you will be allowed to stay (though maybe you will be detained). We have had many clients travel using the Advance Parole and no one has had a problem, so my guess is that you will be ok, and you should not worry, but my major concern for my clients who travel is that they will have trouble boarding the plane without a US visa, using only the travel document. Take care, Jason
Kindly request from Jason to appeal my refugee status on behalf of me.
I am kindly requesting to your honorable office Dzubow law to assist me about my refugee status.
I have been living in the camp for 18 years since 1998 and i was a kid 5 years old. Now i am grown up 23 years and i have no future.
All of my best friends who went to school with me has been already taken to America except me which i dont deserve.
I will always remember how much Jason Dzubow has helped about my refugee status and the crisis of my family in the camp.
I am very indebted for the kind information of Jason Dzubow.
On June 2014 all our cases has been denied by USCIS/DHS up to now 2016.
I hope a compassionate and humanitarian assistance from Jason Dzubow to inquire about my refugee status to USCIS/DHS and i wish my case will be approved after USCIS/DHS hears from Jason Dzubow.
I am very thankful that you are considering about my difficult life in Kakuma refugee camp. Thank you for taking your precious time to help me. I really do appreciate it.
Sir Jason i hope my request is granted.
I hope a prompt reply.
Thanks
This is their address uscis of my denial case.
U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services
Refugee Affairs Division
Washington, DC 20529-2290
I am sorry for your situation. Unfortunately, I can only assist people who are already in the U.S. Best of luck, Jason
Hello, Jason! Do you believe that the information on the asylum bulletin’s website is up-to-date? I asked because I noticed that the information (the information about months in which interviews are being scheduled) hasn’t changed in the last couple of months. Thanks for your response.
I think so – we sometimes see cases that get interviews outside the listed times, but generally, it seems to be correct, at least for Arlington, my local office. Take care, Jason
Jason, thank you so much for your response. I forgot to ask you a very important question: Does changing your lawyer affect your asylum application or process, after the application’s filed? My application is with the asylum office in New Jersey. My application was submitted to the aforesaid office in December, 2014. I haven’t hitherto heard from that office. I do, however, have an EAD. The lawyer I have currently doesn’t seem knowledgeable about asylum laws/the process. What is worse is that she doesn’t she much understanding, interest or care! Can I change? If not, why? Thank you.
You can change lawyer; it is not a problem. The new lawyer will just have to file a form to tell the asylum office that you have a new lawyer. It’s easy. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
This’s off topic but still asylum-related. (I hope you don’t mind.)
How common are asylum cases for Palestinians from Gaza Strip? Is it common for their applications to be delayed or referred to HQ, or they’re treated like other normal cases?
Thanks,
I have had only one case from Gaza – he feared persecution by Hamas. He won, but it took a long time (we had to prove he was not a citizen of Israel, Jordan, and Algeria, where he was born). I do not know how common it is, but it seems to me that many Palestinians from Gaza would have a strong application for asylum. Take care, Jason
Thank you. But how did this work given the fact that West Bank is a Palestinian territory and that Hamas doesn’t rule there?
We argued (successfully) that the client could not live in the West Bank because he did not have permission to live there and he had no where to live. I am not sure that argument would work for all Judges, but it worked for us.
Hi Jason,
Thanks a lot for your informative posts. I have a question for you though. My green card application (asylum based) has been pending approval for over 7 months in Texas Service Center. Do you think this is normal or it’s better to contact an attorney. I have contacted the USCIS two times to no avail. Thanks a lot
There are sometimes delays with green cards. You may want to make sure you are not being held up based on TRIG. There is a link at right where you can check. You can also contact the Ombudsman – a link is at the right for that. You can also use a lawyer, but frankly, there is not much a lawyer can do more than a non-lawyer. Anyway, I would start with those two links and if it does not help, maybe look for a lawyer. Good luck, Jason