Your words matter.
The scapegoating of migrants often occurs in times of crisis. However, current narratives around migrants and marginalised people are intensifying. The Immigration Bills of 2014 and 2016, the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, and the Illegal Migration Act have relied heavily on demonisation and division in order to be framed as palatable.
At the Migrants’ Rights Network, understanding the role intersections of identity play in shaping refugee and migration policies is central to our campaigning work. We must understand and be honest about who these policies are aimed at, and why. Words like ‘illegal’, ‘refugee crisis’ and ‘invasion’ place the blame on migrants, rather than interrogating the root causes of displacement. We know we cannot effectively tackle divisive language unless we expose the root of migration rhetoric, and offer migrant-defined new narratives.
Unfortunately, migration advocacy organisations often look at migration or refugee protections as siloed issues. It rarely looks at the construction of migrants, including refugees, through an intersectional lens, or how racism has shaped the idea of who is welcome in the West. Moreover, while racial justice organisations have worked hard to expose the racist undertones of the language of ‘contribution’, ‘assimilation’ and ‘integration’, and the idea of the deserving ‘model migrant’, these narratives are regularly reinforced by the migrant rights sector.
Our Words Matter campaign is dedicated to exposing and defying harmful anti-migrant narratives, and centering compassionate alternatives. Central to our campaign is the realisation that words and narratives carry immense power, bringing about policies that have an immense impact on migrants’ lives. For us to defy anti-migrant policies, we must defy the dehumanising narratives that make them possible.
In order to work towards true migrant liberation, we must move away from harmful, anti-migrant language towards alternatives that are rooted in affirming the dignity and humanity of all migrant and migratised communities.
Words Matter Compilation
Click here to find a concise booklet of all our explainers!
In this project:
Navigate the subheadings below to find more information on how you can make your Words Matter pledge, how you can commission us for a workshop, and how you can hold your MPs to account.