Every day, more than 10,000 foreign-born residents help to keep Bermuda functioning. They work in our hospitals, hotels, construction sites, international businesses and schools. Yet this critical segment of the population remains vulnerable to insecure housing arrangements and have limited ability to challenge poor living conditions.

Migrant workers in Bermuda are often omitted from conversations of housing security simply because they are not a part of the political electorate and cannot vote. In the Government’s recent Affordable Housing Strategy, we saw a focus on a narrative akin to “Bermuda first”: that nationalism must dictate Bermudian citizens be foremost for housing rights and entitlements. Yet, in our modern context, eroding the rights of migrant workers in favour of Bermudian-born citizens is not only fundamentally immoral, it also puts Bermuda at a competitive disadvantage on the world stage.

The vast majority of migrant workers in Bermuda are renters. They are accountable to landlords and are reliant on job security as a prerequisite to maintain accommodation. Already a vulnerable community from this perspective, migrant workers also face frequent scapegoating because of the rapidly rising cost of housing in Bermuda that pushes out middle-class citizens. The reality is that government work permit policy itself reflects that Bermuda fills labour shortages with overseas workers while prioritising Bermudians for available jobs where possible.

The Affordable Housing Strategy goes so far as to examine how the modern housing market faces pressure owing to limited land, high construction costs and regulatory barriers — factors isolated from immigration. Migrant workers are not the cause of the housing crisis; they are among those most affected by it.

A high-income economy, Bermuda’s population is among the oldest on average in the world, and an unsustainable pension bubble is beginning to form. At the same time, Bermuda’s birthrate has fallen drastically. The migrant worker population in Bermuda will only continue to become more pivotal stakeholders to our island in the future given these demographic changes. Despite this reality, we still trail so far behind in how we treat and incorporate migrant workers into our housing strategy. How can the Ministry of Economy and Labour explicitly state the urgent need for 8,418 new persons in the workforce to match our old-age dependency ratio, yet fail to create an immigration environment where the housing entitlements of migrant workers are even acknowledged under the Affordable Housing Strategy?

This politicised and narrow-minded hostility towards immigrants in Bermuda regarding their housing has effects both societally and economically. Migrant workers in Bermuda may hesitate to hold their landlords accountable owing to fear of retribution and a lack of legal safeguards. Migrant workers may live in poor living conditions or be at risk of rent or housing discrimination.

The measure of a society is not only how it treats its citizens but how it treats those who contribute to its prosperity. The prejudiced attitudes and housing conditions which migrant workers face are not just a reflection of a moral shortcoming in Bermuda, it’s also an environment which actively discourages immigrants — particularly skilled labour — from coming to Bermuda at a time when they are more economically vital to this island than at any other point in its history.

This is why the Bermuda Autonomous Tenants Association remains committed to protecting the rights of not just Bermudian tenants, but all tenants who call this island “home” — whether this home be temporary or lifelong. This growing community of vulnerable migrant workers needs a space where they can feel empowered to challenge any discrimination they face, be it landlord abuse or local hostility.

At the BATA, we call for minimum standards for employer-provided housing, regular inspections, protection from retaliation when workers report unsafe accommodation, easier reporting mechanisms and the full integration of migrant workers and their rights into the Government’s Affordable Housing Strategy.

We absolutely should address the housing challenges faced by Bermudians. But guaranteeing greater housing interests and protections for migrant workers does not take rights away from Bermudians — it raises standards for everyone.

Our housing strategies must reflect demographic shifts, not ungrounded nationalism.

We must build an environment where migrant workers feel safe and respected in Bermuda not just to address our moral obligations as the kind island we are, but also to address the economic challenges that Bermuda continues to face on the global stage.

The Bermuda Autonomous Tenants Association remains committed to protecting the rights of every tenant who calls this island home. We urge Bermuda to do the same.

• Christopher Madeiros is a member of the Bermuda Autonomous Tenants Association