Black, LGBTQ, Asian, Faith and Hispanic voices among those fighting efforts to keep Title 42 in place
Washington, DC – While some observers have been skeptical and critical of the Biden administration’s announcement to lift Title 42 at the end of May, other voices have been praising the news, recognizing that Title 42 is a public health policy cooked up by Stephen Miller to justify and end to asylum in the U.S. and that it’s been a failure through the lens of border management. Democrats should not aid and abet its continued usage, nor the Republicans’ effort to use it to eviscerate a functional asylum system.
As The Hill quoted Vanessa Cárdenas, Deputy Director of America’s Voice, “the choice for Democrats on a Title 42 vote was if they are going to ‘stand with [Trump White House adviser] Stephen Miller and Senate Republicans who want to end asylum as we know it, or stand for an America that can protect both its borders and its tradition as a welcoming nation?’ Democrats have a choice. They can cower before an ugly rightwing disinformation campaign that falsely asserts America has ‘open borders’ designed to ‘replace’ Americans, or they can stand for the proposition that America can govern our borders with both order and justice.”
Below, find other outside voices making the case for why lifting Title 42 is the right choice:
- Joint Statement from a coalition of Black immigrants’ rights organizations (UndocuBlack Network, Haitian Bridge Alliance, African Bureau of Immigration & Social Affairs, African Communities Together & Black Alliance for Just Immigration), on Title 42: “We’ve witnessed the disproportionate harm Title 42 has inflicted on Black asylum seekers, including pregnant women, babies, and members of the LGBTQ community. As Black immigrants, we are all too familiar with this country’s history of anti-Blackness within the immigration system. To that end, we urge the Biden-Harris administration to keep racial equity in mind as it implements the full termination of Title 42.”
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Immigrant groups unhappy with Warnock criticism of new border policy”: “On Wednesday, a coalition of Latino and immigrant advocates sent Warnock a letter criticizing his comments. These include groups that have backed Warnock, including GALEO Impact Fund and CASA. Others, like the Latino Community Fund, are nonpartisan but are credited with boosting Latino turnout in ways that benefitted Warnock in 2021. The letter says they were disappointed to hear that Warnock opposed ending Title 42 and encourage him to advocate for ‘fair, just, and common-sense immigration policies.’”
- Marcela García column in Boston Globe, “The Long Shelf Life of Title 42”: “Title 42′s imminent cancellation certainly feels like a milestone, which Republicans will undoubtedly weaponize to fearmonger in an election year, using nativist talking points based on falsehoods: An invasion is coming! Expect chaos at the border! Yet those sound bites ignore the fact that Title 42 utterly failed even as a border management mechanism: Data show that migrant encounters surged to a record high during the policy. For Biden and the Democrats, the end of this disastrous policy should not be framed as a political headache, but as an opportunity to demonstrate that it is possible and suitable to process asylum applications in an orderly, legal, and humane way at the US-Mexico border.”
- Statement from Immigration Equality’s Executive Director, Aaron C. Morris: “The Republican Senators who are holding up urgent lifesaving programs that actually fight COVID in a misguided ploy to force the Biden administration to reinstitute Title 42 are playing a dangerous game. Their xenophobic politicking is putting asylum seekers and Americans in great danger. This is appalling because there is no public health justification for using Title 42 to prevent refugees from seeking safety in the United States…Every day that Title 42 continues, queer refugees will suffer. Asylum seekers with meritorious claims will continue to be expelled to their countries of origin—and for LGBTQ refugees, this means facing persecution, torture, or death.”
- Joint Statement by Asian American Civil Rights Groups condemning efforts to continue Title 42: “We remain concerned with the continued expulsion of families in the coming weeks, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color, particularly Black migrants seeking asylum. We must achieve an asylum and refugee system that protects children and families fleeing or are in fear of persecution.”=
- Statement from Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of The Immigration Hub on newly introduced legislation to force U.S. to maintain Title 42: “Democrats who choose to support this bill are making a gross political misstep. Keeping Title 42 in place only makes matters worse at the border. There is no order or process in place to manage migration without fully revoking Title 42 and allowing President Biden’s plan to take effect with the tools and personnel that would mitigate any increase in migration.”
- Elvia Díazof the Arizona Republic, “Tired of COVID-19 restrictions? Then don’t complain about the end of Title 42”: “…[T]he border is just a campaign prop in the hunt for votes. [Arizona AG Mark] Brnovich will do and say anything about border security in his bid to win the GOP nomination to compete against [Sen. Mark] Kelly in the November general election. Title 42 is just the latest Republican tool to paint Democrats as ‘open border’ supporters, who’d let cartels and human smuggling flood America with foreigners and drugs. Fact is both Trump, a Republican, and now Biden have expelled most border crossers under the COVID-19 pretense.”
- Statement from an interfaith coalition of religious organizations urging President Biden and Democrats to end Title 42 and welcome refugees: “Our faith traditions call us to welcome vulnerable people with warmth and open arms, and we call on the Biden administration to do the same. We urge him as a fellow person of faith to join us in being fully prepared to welcome all people with dignity by providing a comprehensive and clearly-communicated plan to build an equitable, humane, and anti-racist asylum system. We eagerly await these plans and we eagerly await the opportunity to welcome our new neighbors.”
