At least three in four countries – home to 91 percent of the global population – have imposed partial or complete border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and roughly one in two human beings is living under lockdown as governments try to slow the spread of the virus. While perhaps necessary from a public health standpoint, the limitations on movement make it more difficult for people fleeing wars and persecution to access protection, and raise pressing questions about what special steps governments need to take to safeguard asylum seekers and irregular migrants in these unusual times. But migration policy experts also warn that some governments are taking advantage of the crisis to push through legally dubious, hardline migration policies that can’t be justified by public health concerns and that could stay in place long after the COVID-19 outbreaks subside – in particular, ending or curtailing access to asylum. “You do absolutely have some governments who have exploited the situa...

Around the world, 79.5 million people have been forcibly displaced. That’s the most since World War II, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Since most people remain displaced within their home country, how many refugees are there in the world? About 26 million people worldwide have fled to other countries as refugees. Another 4.2 million people have applied for refugee status, but not received it yet. More than half of refugees are children. In 2018, 11 million people were newly displaced, either as refugees or internally displaced people. Now, it’s unknown how border closings and travel restrictions due to COVID-19 will affect the number of new refugees in the world. Conflict and insecurity in other countries, including Iraq, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Myanmar have also caused millions to flee their homes. Here are top seven countries of origin that account for the most refugees in the world today. About two-thirds of today’s refugees (68%) come from the ...

  In a continued effort to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), countries have been tightening borders and putting travel restrictions in place. These actions have affected refugees and migrants worldwide. The International Organization for Migration and UNHCR announced on March 10, 2020, that resettlement travel for refugees will be temporarily suspended, although the agencies have appealed to states to ensure emergency cases are exempted.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted some countries to take steps towards further reducing population movement that affects humanitarian corridors around the world.  At the same time, there could be cases of refoulement with asylum seekers being returned to their countries of origin, where they are at risk of persecution and in an apparent breach of international law. As of March 29, 2020, WHO reported 146 countries and territories with cases of COVID-19 from local transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavi...

  Nebane “Neba” Abienwi fled five armed conflicts in Cameroon and trekked across eight South, Central and North American countries to try to save his life.  He thought the United States was a beacon of hope that would offer him and his family a future. Instead Neba died of an unknown cause after being jailed at a privately run center in California. He became the first black person ever to die in immigration jail. Neba’s only breaths of free air were taken en route to the hospital, where immigration officials took him after he suffered an unexplained illness, USA Today reports. There, he died, the ventilator removed against the wishes of his family, who were still in Africa. They wanted a chance to say goodbye.  The number of asylum-seekers from Cameroon has more than doubled in recent years, as the Cameroonian government committed human rights atrocities and burned over 500 villages, including Neba's native Bafut. Neba, a brother, father, husband and “Chopchair” (a Bafut ...

For asylum seekers, trying to find work in another country is very difficult. Not only is there often a language barrier and reams of paperwork, but there is also the fact that government systems can encourage exploitation. Asylum seekers in the UK receive £37.75 a week to live on, and most are prohibited from working. But this small amount of money often fails to allow people to meet their basic needs. This leads some to search for work to supplement their income. But herein lies the problem, as the only people willing to employ them are those happy to do so illegally. This leaves asylum seekers with no bargaining power to negotiate reasonable pay or working conditions. Yet the risk of exploitation does not end with a positive asylum decision. Refugees are often dispersed out of London and the south-east to other areas in the UK. The areas of dispersal are determined by the availability of temporary housing. In many cases, this is concentrated around areas of economic deprivation. Thi...

Claiming asylum in the UK should be a process of alleviation. After enduring the traumas of war, exile, and separation, asylum seekers should be met with a smooth procedure that grants full access to the information and support needed to build a promising application. Instead, many argue that the UK asylum system encompasses a ‘hostile environment’ with long delays and a culture of disrespect, preventing those who have already faced unimaginable horrors from rebuilding their lives. Out of the 26,547 applications for asylum, protection or settlements in the UK, 14,166 were granted in the year ending in March 2018, dropping 11% from the previous year. With Brexit creeping closer and a hostile environment immigration policy sending inhospitable messages to refugees fleeing violence and persecution, it will not be surprising if the 5% of global asylum applications currently received by the UK continues to drop. Awareness of the UK’s inhospitable system continues to grow following the Windr...