In Parallels and Discrepancies between Non-Native Species Introductions and Human Migration (Ahmed et al., 2025), published in Biological Reviews, we brought together an interdisciplinary team of scholars from more than 40 institutions across 23 countries to explore how ecological frameworks—particularly those from invasion science—have been metaphorically, and often inappropriately, applied to human migration. Our aim was to interrogate them critically and constructively. The paper thus disentangles the conceptual, historical, and ethical implications of drawing parallels between the movement of species and people, highlighting the risks of oversimplification and the potential for harm when scientific language is misused or decontextualized. We argue for an approach that is attentive to disciplinary boundaries, historical legacies, and sociopolitical consequences. Grounded in both natural and social sciences, our analysis offers a path toward more nuanced, responsible, and reflexive interdisciplinary scholarship—one that supports just and context-sensitive policymaking in a world where both environmental and human mobilities are increasingly politicized.