President Joe Biden has been accused of continuing a policy that his predecessor used to expel thousands of migrants seeking asylum at the border. This has prompted a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.
More than 500,000 migrants have been expelled at the border by the Biden administration for health reasons. This is an increase on the nearly 460,000 people expelled last year under President Donald Trump. Title 42 was renewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week. This public health order allows border agents to expel migrants arriving at the border for health reasons and prohibits them from applying for asylum.
“It’s clear there’s no end in sight to Title 42 and we will pursue an immediate injunction,” Lee Gelernt, the deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and the organization’s lead attorney on this case,” told Politico. “The Biden administration asked for some time to repair the damage done by the Trump administration to the asylum process, but it has now been seven months. That’s a more than sufficient amount of time.”
He told The Hill that “We’ve been negotiating with them since the end of February and it’s now clear there is no immediate end to Title 42 in sight. We had no choice but to continue the litigation because they backed us into a corner.
Gelernt said, “This is a bad image for CDC. You should look closely, but even though they shouldn’t have issued this order, they tried threading the needle. They aren’t saying that there’s no way to accept asylum seekers. They simply say you must adopt mitigation protocols, and that’s on the Department of Homeland Security.
“It’s no longer a Trump policy because he’s no longer in the White House, so it is a Biden policy, and we should fix it,” Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., told the Hill.
“I think because COVID-19 is still very much present in the U.S. and this new variant is spreading so quickly that there’s pressure for the government to take these very strict measures that are not necessarily reflective of our values as a party or reflective of the values of the administration,” he added. “I think it’s a mistake.”
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) organized a letter that 60 Democratic legislators signed last February to urge Biden not to defend the Trump-era policy. Recent statements by Wilson to The Hill stated that undoing Trump’s damage at the border would take time, and should be done safely and in the context of a worldwide pandemic. She also said that there is no reason why the government should leave this matter to the courts. It can repeal Title 42 and create a more humane asylum program that is compatible with our nation’s values, and our international obligations.
Wilson stated, “We can and should adjust policies for international travel in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This will allow asylum seekers with legitimate claims to enter the United States.” I believe that our immigration system is capable of handling this challenge, and can chew gum while walking.
