Two's Company, Three's a Crowd: A New System to Protect Plural Wives in International Migration

Every year, around the world, millions of people migrate from one country to another. Recognizing the importance of family unity—a foundational principle of human rights law—most countries have adopted policies to ensure that immigrant families can arrive together or, if separated, later reunify. Yet, not all families have access to these processes. Polygamous families are generally excluded from family unity guarantees by the immigration systems of monogamous countries. This puts many migrants—particularly refugees or asylees—in a difficult spot. If they choose to migrate regardless, it may lead to family separation or other consequences, with second and subsequent wives particularly at risk of harm. Though these anti-polygamy policies have a long history and are often framed as a protective measure against polygamy as a human rights violation, they ironically serve to place these additional wives at risk of far more severe abuses than their original marriages ever did. As humanitarian crises and corresponding refugee flows in areas where polygamy is practiced escalate, there is a growing need to address these consequences. By outlining new guidelines for managing international migration by polygamous families, this Comment seeks to chart a new path forward, balancing the protection needs of polygamous refugees and asylum-seekers with the public policy and human rights concerns of monogamous countries.