Migration

International News

Not Invisible: Strengthening Protection for Children with Disabilities in Migration and Displacement. (Jul, USCRI)

Examining the Climate Change-Migration Nexus from a Disability Lens (2023, Bill of Health)

Climate Migration and Disability Part 1: What we Know (2023, Sustain Our Abilities)

Empowering Disabled Refugees: Mustafa Rifat's experiences navigating the refugee resettlement process as a disabled refugee, and his concrete recommendations for resettlement agencies, disability services organizations, (2023, Down to the Struts)

A Scoping Review of Needs and Barriers to Achieving A Livable Life among Refugees with Disabilities: Implications for Future Research, Practice, and Policy. (2022, Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work)

For Many Disabled People, a Battle to Stay in Australia or New Zealand (2022, New York Times)

Crossing the Border: How Disability Civil Rights Protections are “powerful tools for ensuring that disabled asylum-seekers have access to the protection and services they need in the U.S. immigration system.” (2022, American Progress)

Data on disability and migration – what do we know? estimates of 12 million displaced persons around the world being disabled, and emerging practices on data. (2022, Data 4 SDGs)

Migration data portal: Disability and human mobility (2022, Migration Data Portal)

Disability-inclusive data in migration: How far have we come? (2022, Migration Data Portal)

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South Africa

A group evicts more than 200 people from a privately owned derelict building “which has been home to over 400 occupants — mostly migrants. Many are people living with disabilities and are wheelchair [users], while others are visually impaired.” (2022, Daily Maverick)

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Israel

Life for Israelis with disabilities is a well-kept secret “For-profit institutions and government neglect have led to brutal abuse and exploitation.” Explored in the context of immigration laws that allow for recognition of disability before migration. (2023, Jewish News Syndicate)

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Taiwan

Disability inclusion petition launched for foreign residents in Taiwan. “Petition calls on health ministry to enable foreign permanent residents to qualify for disability certificate” (2023, Taiwan News) Government mulls over how to respond. (Focus Taiwan)

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United Arab Emirates

Migrant Workers Bear The Brunt Of UAE's Extreme Heat. (2023, Human Rights Watch)

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Europe

Persons with Disabilities in Asylum and Reception Systems (Jan, European Union Agency for Asylum)

For a European Disability Card that makes the freedom of movement accessible. (2023, ENIL)

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Germany

Concern over rights to naturalization for migrants with disabilities “The amount of money one needs to have in their bank account to prove self-sufficiency will be raised, which could serve as a barrier to people with disabilities who receive social benefits.” (2023, Infomigrants)

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Italy

Disability, Rehabilitation, and Assistive Technologies for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Italy: Policies and Challenges. “The lack of a standardized vulnerability assessment represents the main barrier to the organization of specific services for migrants within the community.” (2023, Societies)

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Sweden

Sarah’s Journey an animated video of Sarah's story, “a 37-year-old disabled Syrian female refugee with a secondary education who had to flee her country of origin in 2015”. (Feb, Newcomers with disabilities)

In Search of Links: Overview of the State of Research on Disability, Migration, Employment and Health. (Jan, Independent Living Institute)

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United Kingdom

Home Office in threat to deport disabled man to Nigeria after 38 years in UK. (May, the Guardian)

Iranian artist opens show exploring disability and migration. “Paralympian Mohammad Barrangi hopes his work will help people think of human stories behind headlines about migration” (Apr, the Guardian)

London Council Breaches Human Rights Law After Subjecting Disabled Asylum Seeker to Degrading Treatment. “The bedroom was too small for him to store and use his disability-related equipment. The bathroom was inaccessible and did not have adapted toilet/shower facilities. The lack of space for him to mobilise using equipment meant he was bedbound.” (Feb, Byline Times)

See Britain’s hidden shame “Leaving disabled asylum seekers to rot in an old care home is not an aberration – it is the system working exactly as intended” (2023, the Guardian)

Disabled man in fourth week of hunger strike over ‘inhuman’ Home Office facility. “The Home Office has so far refused to take any action over the case of Basam Huzyene, originally from Jordan, who has diabetes and a serious heart condition.” (2023, Disability News Service)

Concerns raised over living conditions for family of asylum seekers from Sudan living with two disabled children in one room at Belfast hotel. (2023, The Irish News)

UK Turns its Back on Asylum Seekers with Disabilities “More than 50 asylum seekers, most of whom have disabilities, are being warehoused in a former care home in Essex, England, without access to adequate support and services.” (2023, Human Rights Watch)

Asylum seekers with disabilities ‘abandoned’ in former Essex care home. One advocate described this as “putting them in a dustbin and putting the lid on. But what they need is help. What is going on is unpardonable”. (2023, the Guardian)

Vulnerable asylum seekers 'prisoners in their own homes' after fleeing war zones. “Many claim they have been placed in unsuitable properties that are littered with tripping hazards and have broken lifts.” (2023, Mirror)

Jamaicans with disabilities facing ‘unjust’ deportation from UK. “Most of the Jamaicans facing deportation next week on a government flight live with a disability or health problem and came to Britain as children” (2022, Independent)

Non-verbal black teenager who has never left UK detained at immigration centre. “Boy who went missing from hospital arrested and held at Gatwick facility after being wrongly recorded as Nigerian” (2022, the Guardian)

A Mural on Disability and Migration bringing together the disabled movement and asylum sector. (Youtube, 2021, Disability Murals)

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Canada

Migration has always been a disability justice issue. (2022, Briarpatch)

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Mexico

Women with disabilities: the other face of migration. (2023, Yo También)

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Panama

In deadly Darién Gap, pregnant women and disabled people are increasingly vulnerable. (2023, Doctors without Borders)

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United States

Standing on Our Own Two Feet: Disability Justice as a Frame for Reimagining Our Ableist Immigration System:

“The immigration system remains an ableist project of sorting bodies based on their ability to produce labor and otherwise conform to an imagined, nondisabled normate. Disability justice offers a new frame for analyzing immigration laws, policies, and practices, as well as specific solutions to transform the system from a sorting mechanism to one that more effectively and humanely facilitates migration” (Apr, UCLA Law Review)

Asian American Disability: A History and Its Archives “Ability has been central to Asian American history”. (Apr, Journal of American Ethnic History)

Migrants with disabilities struggle to access the U.S. asylum system “The CBP One phone app, which most migrants use to begin the U.S. asylum process, isn’t accessible to those who are blind, deaf, have mobility issues, or have intellectual disabilities, according to a complaint.” (Mar, Texas Tribune)

Representing asylum seekers with disabilities relevant law. (2023, Human Rights First)

Immigrants with Disabilities Face Barriers in Immigration Court “as they navigate deportation proceedings in U.S. immigration courts, where they must gather and submit evidence, testify, and present their case, often without a lawyer.” (2023, Human Rights First)

Venezuelan family seeks asylum at border with baby and disabled daughter to escape cartel. (2023, WOAI)

U.S. removes Trump-era barriers to citizenship-test waivers for disabled immigrants (2022, NPR)

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Australia

'You're not welcome here': Australia accused of discriminating against disabled migrants (Jul, BBC)

A migration review could close some disability discrimination loopholes A review of the threshold which is “used to refuse visas if an applicant or their child has a health condition or disability likely to incur “a significant cost to the Australian community” to treat or support.” (2023, The Conversation)

Calls for changes to migration laws as families shown the door due to high medical costs. (2023, ABC News)

Perth family facing deportation as son's Down syndrome diagnosis deemed taxpayer burden. (2023, ABC News)

Cairns family facing deportation “After living in Australia for more than a decade, a Korean couple is facing deportation because their son, who was born here, has autism.” (2022, 9 News)

‘I am who I am’: how a blind Kurdish refugee became an Australian sporting superstar. (2022, the Guardian)

Bangladeshi refugee describes 'humiliating' treatment because of disability while detained on Nauru. (2022, SBS News)

Migrants with disability are discriminated against with 'impossible' health requirements, advocacy groups say. “We're working with a young man who came to Australia as an asylum seeker and had a stroke. The federal government supports him to live in a nursing home, but they won’t allow him access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme to receive the support he needs to live a good life in the community.” (2022, SBS News)

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New Zealand

The pain of the policy that splits disabled kids from their parents Jap Sahib and his mother Prince are one of many families who have endured the pain of living split between countries. (Oct, D*List)

Family who couldn’t get residency due to child’s disability wins after nine-year battle (Sep, Stuff)

Calls to scrap discriminatory immigration health requirements (2023, Stuff)

Why does NZ make it so hard for disabled people to move here? By the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello. “We need Aotearoa's disability communities to rally behind scrapping eugenic migration rules.” (2023, D*List)

'Inhumane': The Government policy that deports disabled children (2022, 1 News)

Time to scrap ableist migration rules down under The Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello arguing for fair migration rules. (2022, Overland)

New Zealand denies entry to autistic daughter of immigrant couple. “Rules do not allow people to move to New Zealand if they would impose a high cost to the health system”. (2022, the Guardian)

Girl, 12, denied residency because her autism does not meet 'acceptable standards of health'. (2022, Sky)

Government won't review 'discriminatory' immigration policy towards disabled people. (2022, Stuff)

Immigration policy discriminates against disabled “It’s become commonplace to read news stories about people with disabilities who have been denied New Zealand residency and face deportation.” (2022, Stuff)

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Argentina

A study shows violence faced by women migrants with disabilities: eight out of ten report facing violence or harassment. (In Spanish, 2023, CTA)

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Peru

Inclusive Education For Children With Disabilities a program from UNICEF. (2023, Forbes)

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