March 21 2026
March 21, 2026, marks the 61st International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the first day of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling Against Racism and Racial Discrimination. Just prior, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) released a report on March 10, 2026 drawing attention to “…the reported increase in racial discrimination, including through racial profiling, and racist hate speech targeting migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and those perceived as such…”
How are racial discrimination and xenophobia connected?
Today, in the global north, xenophobia is mainly racialized. Even the English language has different terms for migration depending on the race and class of an individual.
Research shows that Westerners with a proximity to whiteness have the benefit of being called the positively connotated “expat,” whereas those from the global south and/or are racialized must navigate the negatively connotated legal terms for migration, including immigrant and refugee.
But, the different treatments of migratory people extend far beyond just language, and influence policy and enforcement of national borders. Immigration policy is a state-wide attempt at determining who is and who isn’t allowed to exist within a nation.
Border control and racism in Canada
Canada is one of the few countries in the global north that has no legal limit on immigration detention, meaning people can be incarcerated for months or even years. Until 2025, despite detentions being mostly administrative and not criminal, people were often held in provincial prisons, increasing the strain on the already under resourced and overcrowded prison system. t
Today, Canada is deporting approximately 400 people a week.
The federal government has been increasingly putting forward policies and bills that reaffirm and further contribute to the rise in xenophobia and racism that migrants face. The drastic cuts to international student visas and changes to the post-graduate work permit program, as well as the government’s suspension of the Home Care Worker Immigration pilot programs not only unfairly scapegoat newcomers, but they also put those already in Canada in a precarious position, as they may be forced to leave or risk losing status.
The situation was made worse by the Trudeau government’s backtracking on its commitment to implement a regularization program for those already living and working in Canada.
Since Mark Carney became Prime Minister, his government has rushed through so-called border security legislation – the Strong Borders Act (Bill C-2), parts of which were later reintroduced as the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12). These bills have been widely seen as a capitulation to the Trump administration’s demands.
These bills are an attack on the rights and freedoms of all people in Canada, such as privacy rights, but especially target the rights of (and undermine Canada’s international legal obligations to) refugees and asylum seekers. For example, Bill C-12 would grant the government sweeping powers to suspend or cancel immigration and refugee permits and applications with little oversight.
At the same time, this government is cutting healthcare for people fleeing war, genocide, torture, and persecution creating more instability in the lives of already vulnerable people.
While targeting those trying to enter the country, the government is simultaneously silent on upholding the rights of some Canadians as they pass through the border. For example, Indigenous people who are guaranteed mobility through the Jay Treaty and Treaty of Canandaigua have been urged by Indigenous leaders to take precautions and carry proof of status and citizenship because of the increased instances of racial profiling by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Meanwhile, the Canadian government has stayed silent.
All these examples show how the government is using policy to threaten migrants’ rights and lives.
NUPGE calls for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, including xenophobia
On this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, NUPGE reiterates our support of status for all and demands that all governments abolish the xenophobic and racist policies and practices they inflict on migrants.
We reject politicians’ attempts to use divide and conquer tactics to turn communities against each other and to try to distract from problems like underfunding public services and allowing inequality and corporate power to soar. Instead, we need leadership to foster communities where all people can live safely and thrive.