An article by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, highlights the importance of protecting human rights of marginalized populations during and post-pandemic. Particularly in the case of temporary foreign workers in Canada, a right to health approach is critical.

“The right to health has two dimensions. It’s about access to health care but it’s also about securing the underlying social determinants of health in the realization that health care alone will not satisfy good health among the population,” says Brigit Toebes, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, “what we see is that problems surrounding COVID-19 are more prevalent in settings where there’s poverty and other forms of deprivation emphasizing the need to improve socioeconomic living conditions.”

This article by Global News describes the challenges many migrant families are facing in terms of seeking asylum in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families describe how they are being "swept up by Customs and Border Protection using extraordinary power available during public health emergencies to expel Mexicans and many Central Americans immediately to Mexico and waive immigration laws that include rights to seek asylum."

​"The Border Patrol in June put 27,535 people on a track to expulsion under the public health emergency and made only 2,859 arrests under immigration law."

This article in CBC News describes how Ontario's undocumented migrants are slipping through the provinces COVID-19 net. Several foreign farm labourers do not have the proper permits to work in Canada and are now facing the fear that getting tested for COVID-19 may get them deported. An outbreak in Southwestern Ontario has resulted in over 1,000 migrant farm workers getting sick and killed 3 of them.

"I think is it's common knowledge that most of the workers that are hired through a temp work agency are undocumented," says Santiago Escobar, a national representative with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and a co-ordinator of the Agricultural Workers Alliance. ​Escobar. "And due to their precarious status, unscrupulous employers and temporary work agencies are taking advantage of these workers." 

The documentary "Who Gets In?" by Barry Greenwood ​explores the various questions regarding Canada's immigration policy. The documentary was shot in 1988 in Africa, Canada and Hong Kong. "The film reveals first-hand what Canadian immigration officials are looking for in potential new Canadians, and the economic, social and political priorities orienting their choices."

Our blog ECHOES features an original contribution by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). KIND is the leading national organization advocating for the rights of unaccompanied migrant and refugee children in the U.S. In the article, Wendy Young and Jasiel Fernández from KIND discuss the need to foster intentional spaces for migrant children's voices and identity. 

Public Health & Migration at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health presents: Inbetween, a digital storytelling event on the intersectional experiences of LGBTQ+ immigrants.

Join us to watch seven digital stories of LGBTQ+ immigrants and their allies. The digital stories convey their expectations and lived experiences from an intersectional perspective. The event will conclude with a final Q&A session.

EVENT SPEAKERS:

• Andrea A. Cortinois, DLSPH
• Celeste Bilbao-Joseph, CSSP
• Rani Sanderson, StoryCenter Canada
• Roberta Timothy, DLSPH
• Esmeralda Aparicio, Digital Storyteller | Mexico
• Salem Azizah, Digital Storyteller | Syria

The event will take place on March 4th from 5-7 pm at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Room 610).

According to an article in the Guardian, hundreds of Salvadorans deported by US were killed or abused.

​"Human Rights Watch has documented 138 deported Salvadorans murdered by gang members, police, soldiers, death squads and ex-partners between 2013 and 2019. The majority were killed within two years of deportation by the same perpetrators they had tried to escape by seeking safety in the US."

The report, Deported to Danger: United States deportation policies expose Salvadorans to death and abuse, identifies over 70 individuals who were subject to beatings, sexual assault and extortion or who went missing after being returned.