US Law Does Not Recognize Fleeing Climate Disasters As Legitimate Grounds For Asylum - Neither Does International Law

Millions of people around the world are having their lives upended by floods, storms, and heatwaves worsened by the climate crisis. Those forced to flee their home countries, however, are finding that the door to the United States is more firmly shut than ever.

Neither U.S. nor international law recognizes environmental hazards, such as climate-related displacement, as a valid cause to claim asylum or gain entry through other migration pathways, despite the mounting toll of disasters caused by an overheating planet.But those who have managed to get to the U.S. through other means after being displaced in this way now find themselves in an even more precarious position following Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with little hope of a new system to help others forced from their homes by climate impacts.

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Droughts are being exacerbated by rising global temperatures, researchers have found, and are a leading cause of the 250 million people worldwide who have been displaced by environmental factors in the past decade, according to the United Nations. Displaced people in certain countries can also be affected by wars or fall victim to gangs or other violence as a result of their movement. These secondary impacts are often the ones that compel them to flee over international borders and gain sanctuary elsewhere.

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People uprooted from countries like Sudan and Somalia now face an almost impossible situation in terms of entry to the U.S., according to Felipe Navarro, associate director of policy and advocacy at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. “If you were displaced by climate change, that door is closed,” he said. “I don’t think climate displacement comes into the administration’s thinking; it’s probably not intentional. They just have a general hatred for certain nationalities and races. This administration doesn’t really care about climate change at all.”

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https://grist.org/migration/every-day-its-more-barriers-how-the-us-is-shutting-out-climate-refugees/