At this moment, the inhumane and immoral Title 42 policy, a Trump era policy which produced a humanitarian disaster that blocks and expels individuals seeking refuge at the U.S. southern border, remains in place. Though the Biden administration attempted to end the policy, a Federal Judge in Louisiana blocked the administration’s plan to terminate Title 42 in Arizona v. CDC by issuing a preliminary injunction. This policy has wrongfully expelled over 1.8 million people to danger without due process or the opportunity to seek asylum, forcing people back to danger in Mexico or the harm they fled. It has proven to be a discriminatory policy, particularly targeting Haitians and other Black migrants seeking safety.
Since May 20th, 2022, anti-asylum measures have been introduced in an attempt to keep Title 42 in place indefinitely and deny access to asylum, including the Public Health and Border Security Act of 2022, the Solving the Border Crisis Act, and amendments attached to funding bills.
Your voice matters. It is vital that we speak out against such anti-asylum policies that hurt asylum seekers, undermine public health, create chaos at the southern border, and vastly expand wasteful and harmful taxpayer spending on immigration detention and enforcement. We urge the administration and Congress to welcome people with dignity by immediately ending the use of the unlawful and immoral Title 42 policy and oppose any amendments that deny individuals and families the right to seek asylum.
Click “Send Email” or “Call Me” on the right to Contact Your 2 Senators and 1 Representative
You will be able to send an email or receive a phone call that connects you to your Members of Congress. Please make sure to insert your city/town in the highlighted portion.
Sample Email/Script: “I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and [as a faith leader/refugee leader] I am deeply disturbed to see people seeking asylum still being turned away and expelled under the misuse of the immoral and unlawful Title 42 policy. Under the policy, thousands of Haitian and other asylum seeking families and adults have been expelled to the very danger they fled.
I am also deeply concerned to see new proposals attempting to keep the immoral policy in place, including the Public Health and Border Security Act of 2022, the Solving the Border Crisis Act, and amendments attempting to codify Title 42 attached to funding bills. Many migrants have died from being denied access to asylum at the border where ports of entry have remained closed for over two years. Like most efforts historically used to control cross-border migration, Title 42 does not deter those seeking safety in the U.S., but pushes them into more dangerous circumstances while trying to get here.
Public health experts, including senior CDC officials, have consistently stated that this policy does not protect public health. Moreover, public health officials have outlined the severe physical and mental health consequences for asylum seekers expelled under the Title 42 policy. The United States has the ability to protect public health and safeguard the lives of children, families, and adults seeking asylum and other humanitarian protection – just like we have for non-asylum seekers during the pandemic.
I urge you to oppose these dangerous bills and any anti-asylum measures that would keep the inhumane Title 42 policy in place. I also urge you to tell the Biden administration to ensure the safety and dignity of migrants, and halt all expulsions of asylum seekers to danger, working in close coordination with groups and communities who stand ready to welcome them.”
Resources:
- CATO Institute: CBP Is Expelling Thousands of Infants and Toddlers to Mexico After Midnight
- Factsheet: Children and Families Must Have Access to Asylum: Threats to Asylum are Threats to Children’s Safety
- Women’s Refugee Commission: The End of “Remain in Mexico”: Urgent Steps Needed to Allow Migrants to Safely Seek Asylum in the United States
- AILA & National Immigration Law Center: Policy Brief: Remain in Mexico Is Alive and Well: Current Disenrollment Process Harms Vulnerable Asylum Seekers
- Human Rights First: Fatally Flawed: “Remain in Mexico” Policy Should Never Be Revived
- Human Rights First: Risch Portman “Solving the Border Crisis” Bill Analysis
- URGENT TAKE ACTION: Tell President Biden and Congress to Halt Inhumane Expulsions and Anti-Asylum Policies at the Border
- National Immigrant Justice Center: 5 Facts About Title 42: Why Congress Should Not Codify The Trump-Era Expulsion Policy
- Human Rights First: The Nightmare Continues: Title 42 Court Order Prolongs Human Rights Abuses, Extends Disorder at U.S. Borders
- Human Rights First: Civil Society Letter on Immediate Actions to Mitigate the Harms of Title 42
- Human Rights First: Public Health and Border Security Act Analysis
- Three Consequences of Keeping Title 42 in Place at the U.S. Mexico Border
- National Immigration Law Center: Footage of Rep. Pressley from Press Conference
- Religion News Service Op Ed by Barbara Weinstein, Mary Novak CAP analysis
- Ruling on Title 42 Takes Away from Communities, Disregards Public Health Officials, and Undermines Asylum System
- Op-ED – Physicians: To restore public trust, the CDC must stop legitimizing the expulsion of asylum seekers
- Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH): Update on the Human Rights and Rule of Law Situation in Haiti
- The Title 42 Expulsion Policy Does Nothing To Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
- Opinion: The Silence of our senators over Title 42 is worrisome
- Jennifer Piper, CFIR’s Program Director related tweets to the above opinion
- Senator Murray Tweets
- Senator Booker Tweets
- Mother Jones piece on border groups preparedness
- National Immigration Law Center: Remain in Mexico