Hispanic Federation Opposes Any Legislative Efforts to Reinstate Title 42

WASHINGTON — Last week, U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays issued a preliminary injunction to block the Biden administration from following CDC’s guidance on ending Title 42 by May 23. Hispanic Federation condemns the decision to prolong this program and opposes any upcoming legislative efforts that would reinstate or codify Title 42 into law under certain conditions.

Title 42 is a Trump-era policy that served as a pretext to repel refugee and asylum seekers at the U.S. borders, sending them back to their countries of origin, or forcing them to remain in third party countries where they risked violence and exploitation, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Epidemiologists and health experts have repeatedly objected to the use of Title 42, calling it a “cynical use of public health to justify a racist enforcement of immigration and asylum policy,” saying it lacks epidemiological evidence. Title 42 rather represents a political tactic to minimize legal pathways for migrants and asylum seekers to enter the United States, disproportionately impacting migrants of color and causing over 1.9 expulsions since March 2020.

Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation, delivered the following statement:

“For almost two years, the U.S. government has put many people in grave danger and systematically violated the rights of asylum seekers and refugees through our borders, weaponizing a public health emergency to spread fear and xenophobia, continuing a humanitarian crisis at our southern ports of entry, and allowing the misuse of public health protections to strangle legal immigration. Prolonging this policy continues to deny vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees the ability to access their legal and human rights to seek protection in the U.S., subjecting them to kidnappings, rape, torture, and even death at the hands of cartels and criminal organizations. Instead of offering fair, humane policies and the resources needed to restore and make more efficient our asylum system, our government implemented racist policies, like Title 42, which disproportionately impact migrants of color, women, and members of Indigenous and LGBTQ+ communities fleeing persecution. We are disappointed in the court’s decision and are calling on Congress to rise above xenophobia and political rhetoric and seize the opportunity to show common sense by rejecting any efforts to keep Title 42 in place. The continuation of this appalling program betrays and makes a mockery of the words written on the Statue of Liberty and of our country’s historical commitment to the human and legal right to seek asylum.”

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Hispanic Federation Opposes Any Legislative Efforts to Reinstate Title 42