Who are migrants and immigrants?
We often hear words like my grands and immigrants, and they can be confusing. For a country they both mean outsiders but there are certain differences. A migrant is simply someone who has moved from one place to another, in Political theory, it usually denotes, from one nation to another or between different regions within the same nation. They move either willingly for better education, opportunities or lifestyle or under pressure which can be due to unstable political environment, war, conflict or extreme climate conditions. Here, we need to understand, that although the words migrants and immigrants are used interchangeably, a letter often denotes those who move to another country with the intention of settling there for a prolonged period of time.
Both migrants and immigrants face a plethora of challenges while transitioning from their own land to a foreign country. The challenges come in front of them as legal hurdles, issues with cultural integration and social adjustment etc. Nonetheless, they play a critical role in enriching societies by bringing to the table multiculturalism. Sometimes they drive innovation and social cohesion. It is important to understand migrants and immigrants to gain knowledge about any modern society today.
Who are climate migrants?
Climate migrants are the people who leave their country due to severe climatic conditions like the rise of sea level, prolonged droughts, severe heat waves, earthquakes and the list goes on. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) defines climate migration as the movement of people who are compelled to leave their habitual residence due to sudden or progressive environmental changes caused by climate change.
Although climate change is a raging issue of our times, unlike traditional refugees, climate refugees mostly do not meet the legal criteria to obtain refugee status under international law because it demands a well-established threat of persecution.
Current trends and projections
Between the years 2008 and 2016, an average of 21.5 million people got displaced annually as a direct or indirect result of climate change. However, this is just the beginning. Studies project that by 2050, around 216 million individuals will be at risk of becoming climate migrants within their own countries if no significant climate mitigation action is taken.
The African Climate Mobility Initiative has expressed its fear that the African continent solely could see up to 13 million climate refugees internally by 2050. Most of these millions of people are from the third world. The adoption capabilities are low in the third world and especially in the rural communities where people still depend on agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing. Therefore, the rising severity of natural disasters is a cause of concern for everyone.
America and Climate Migrants
The United States of America has been a lucrative destination for migrants for a long time now. Now America is seeing climate refugees both internal and external. In terms of natural disasters, the USA has seen hurricanes, floods and wildfires. In 2022 alone over 3.2 million Americans were displaced or evacuated due to natural disasters and many of them did not return home. The recent Los Angeles fire has caused many people to move out of their residences. Some other areas that are vulnerable to climate change are the gulf coast of Texas, coastal areas of Florida and Miami etc
America has also witnessed an influx of climate migrants from its neighbouring countries, especially from Mexico and Canada. Most of Mexico is desert land and the economy has been going downhill for quite some time now. A lot of Mexicans leave their home to move to America in search of a better life. Most of Canada witness severe cold weather and recently Kannada has seen some serious political instability. Thus, America and climate migration are closely linked.
What is this Conjoint Experiment?
Generally, a conjoint experiment denotes a survey-based market research technique. It is basically used to understand the preferences of the participants among a few options given to them.
American Attitudes Toward Climate Migrants: Findings from a Conjoint Experiment is a study published by a few prominent authors at Cambridge University. This is a research paper based on a survey conducted with over 1000 participants who are adult US citizens.
The survey has shown that most Americans prefer political migrants over those who are fleeing from climate-related disasters or suffering from economic hardships. However, the research paper also unfolds the nonsense of preference spread across different categories particularly the young Americans and activists i.e. who are aware of climate change.
Key Findings
The study has shown a constant favourable tilt of public opinion towards political refugees over any other kind. In this study, political refugees received higher ratings by approximately 4.4 to 8.6 percentage points. This discussion was maintained whether climate migrants were running away from natural disasters, or they were facing climate-induced property.
Another notable finding is that the bias against climate migrants was not rooted in the concern about their ability to integrate into the larger American society. When the participants were asked about the integration process, they believed that climate migrants were equally capable of adapting to life in the United States compared to other refugees.
The demographic divide in public opinion is quite stark as revealed by the study. While younger Americans, aged between 18 to 35, showed hardly any statistical discrimination against climate migrants, the older Americans, especially those aged above 65, rated climate refugees 15 to 21 percentage points lower than political refugees.
Climate Anxiety!
The study has many intriguing findings, and, in my opinion, the most remarkable one is the relationship between climate anxiety and American attitude towards climate migrants. Those who reported having higher levels of anxiety about climate change were also more likely to view climate migrants favourably. Similarly, the individuals who had previously taken part in any climate-related protest or campaign showed much lesser discrimination against climate refugees.
Does this have a political angle?
Yes, because everything does. However, this time it is a little different. Contrary to the expectations of the researchers, party affiliation did not really follow predicted patterns. In this study, both Democrats and Republicans were more accepting towards political refugees than climate migrants. Surprisingly, Democrats showed slightly stronger discrimination (6.1 to 7.1 percentage points) compared to Republicans (0.2 to 10.9 percentage points). Fascinating, isn’t it?
What factors influence the acceptance of Americans?
There are some other factors beyond the type of refugees that directly or indirectly influence the rate of acceptance among Americans and shape the American attitude. They can be listed below.
- Language Skills: refugees who can speak English fluently or somewhat well were given strong preference (17.9 and 8.6 percentage points respectively) over those who are unable to speak English
- Religion: definitely Christian refugees got more preference over other religions. Migrants of Christian origin were preferred more by 8.2 percentage points over Muslim origin or those whose religious background is unknown.
- Age: across all sections। younger refugees were preferred more.
- Family: when are migrant has children, they are preferred by 9.8 percentage points over those without
- Gender: female refugees are usually given more preference over male refugees by 7.2 percentage points.
What lies in the future?
The critical findings of the study create new concerns about America’s preparedness for future migration patterns. This article mentions that between 100 to 200 million people will be displaced due to climate-related disasters worldwide in a few coming decades including potentially 30 million people from Central America alone just over the next 30 years. The main question remains what the American attitude towards these people would be.
The current immigration policy of America is not clear regarding refugees of climate change. US immigration law does not have any particular category for climate migrants be it internal or external. Thus, there is no valid legal basis for claiming asylum in the USA for environmental reasons. Some climate migrants can qualify to have temporary protected status (TPS). However, the application of TPS is pretty inconsistent and varies from one presidential administration to another, making it a very unreliable solution.
Conclusion
This research paper has highlighted a great gap between the impending reality of climate migration which is inevitable to happen and the public revenues to accept it. The more positive attitude among the younger generation and the people who are engaged with climate-related issues provides a beacon of hope that public opinion has the potential to change if the impacts of climate change become more apparent or the present young generation rises to power and gains political influence.
The study also emphasizes the need for public education so that they can understand the connection between climate change and forced migration. The general masses need to understand how climate change causes economic hardships in vulnerable regions. Such education would foster positive public opinion leading to favourable immigration policies for climate migrants.
Climate change is continuously accelerating, and the question of climate migration is becoming highly urgent day by day. The study expresses that while notable obstacles exist in public opinion, there are also many opportunities to build support and create inclusive policies which can be done through the engagement of the younger Americans who have shown remarkable awareness about climate change.
The findings of the study are a clarion call for developing a comprehensive legal framework and immigration policies to include climate migrants in the definition. A clear legal framework also fuels public opinion and creates acceptance among them. Being one of the leading democracies of the world, the USA must Pioneer in the field of giving legal status to climate refugees.
