Democracies must remember their own values when tackling borders, says U.S. official
Former U.S. housing secretary urges countries to 'treat people humanely and compassionately’
*Originally published on April 9, 2025.
Nobody knows how many people will leave their homes in the near future as a result of the climate crisis, but experts predict problems beyond the strength of national governments to handle on their own.
"It's too large for any country to address single-handedly, even the strongest country in the world," Ayelet Shachar told the audience at the Centre Mont-Royal in Montreal, as part of the annual series, Conversations. The event titled Re-Imagining Borders was hosted by the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
Professor Shachar teaches law and global affairs at the University of Toronto, and author of The Shifting Border.
She quoted a common estimate that the number of displaced people and refugees worldwide will double between now and 2050, and will reach a total of around 400 million people.
Estimates cited in United Nations reports range from 25 million to two billion extra migrants due to long-term climate changes.
With wealthy democracies already seeing a rise in popularity for political parties with anti-immigration policies, the future may jeopardize values that motivated the Geneva Convention.
"We should not fight immigration by giving up our own Western values that made us win the Cold War," said Peter Altmaier, a former minister for special affairs and head of the German Chancellery. He was also part of the onstage panel discussion, moderated by IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed, with Shachar and Julian Castro, a former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development.
Castro reinforced Altmaier's view, saying it would be his first piece of advice to any country facing a likely increase in immigration as people leave parts of the world suffering from droughts, flooding, and fires.
"Stay true to your values," Castro said.
"Whether there are a few people trying to come, or a lot of people trying come, you have to treat people humanely and compassionately and reasonably."
Castro says people in the United States needed to understand they form part of a "neighbourhood" and that pressures such as a lack of economic opportunity or safety drive migration.
"I think we have a greater role to play, not in condescendingly working with these countries, but in earnest working with them, to create a better life," said Castro.
He added that it appeared to him that the current U.S. administration does not share this view.
*This episode was produced by Greg Kelly.
