The National Immigration Policy Option: Limits and Potential
Files
Description
Kiribati, the Maldives, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and Tuvalu are small island nations whose existence may be threatened by climate change and whose citizens therefore may have to relocate to other countries. There are concerns, however, that climate change refugees from these and other nations will lack a right of refuge under existing international law and the domestic immigration laws of likely destination countries. These concerns recently have prompted proposals for a new multilateral instrument to give climate-displaced persons a right of refuge as a matter of international law (for an articulation of one of these proposals, see Chapter 10). This chapter argues that there is more potential for using the domestic immigration laws of likely destination countries to respond to climate migration from threatened island nations than is commonly assumed. Although likely destination countries do not have a category of admission specifically for climate-displaced persons, some have immigration provisions that could be the basis for accommodating climate-related migration from some of the most threatened island nations. Policymakers should recognize the potential utility of building on the existing immigration policies of likely destination countries and think of the option of a new multilateral climate displacement treaty as a backstop rather than a top priority. The starting point for the argument in favor of building on existing national immigration policy is that there already is noticeable outmigration from Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the RMI, the three poorest of the four small island nations commonly thought to be most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change. Moreover, outmigration mainly occurs in a relatively orderly way to two highly developed countries (New Zealand and the United States) that in combination with a third (Australia) could afford to increase the number of migrants they admit from Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the RMI. As currently structured, the existing outmigration channels would not be sufficient to deal with large-scale migration from even Kiribati, Tuvalu and the RMI, let alone the Maldives or other countries However, these channels could be expanded gradually to deal with the need to facilitate migration by large numbers of people if climate change requires it. Furthermore, there are important reasons for threatened island nations and likely destination countries to pursue the policy option of gradually expanding existing immigration channels. This chapter focuses on using domestic immigration policy in likely destination countries to deal with climate migration from the most threatened small island nations. However, its point about the utility of national immigration policy also likely extends to cross-border climate migration from other countries. Consider Bangladesh, a country often mentioned as likely to generate large numbers of climate migrants, but not likely to become completely uninhabitable. It is already one of the top source countries for international migrants. Like the most threatened island nations, Bangladesh also may be well served by exploring the expansion of existing outmigration channels to deal with additional cross-border migration required by climate change.
Source Publication
Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate
Source Editors/Authors
Michael B. Gerrard, Gregory E. Wannier
Publication Date
2013
Recommended Citation
Wyman, Katrina M., "The National Immigration Policy Option: Limits and Potential" (2013). Faculty Chapters. 1468.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/1468
