Since the onset of the pandemic, thousands of people seeking safety in the U.S. have been met with callous cruelty under Title 42, a Trump-era policy which has twisted public health laws to block and expel asylum seekers arriving at the border.
The Biden Administration has used the pandemic as a pretext to expel people seeking safety to danger, despite the objections of public health experts and top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s past time to speak out–we must be a country that meets people with compassion and treats them humanely.
BREAKING NEWS (May 2022): In March 2022, The Biden Administration announced that Title 42 restrictions will be lifted starting May 23, 2022. In May 2022, a federal court blocked Title 42 from being lifted and Title 42 remains in effect following that court order.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
– Add your name to show support for the end to Title 42 and urge the Biden Administration to restore asylum for all!
– Take the #WelcomeWithDignity pledge today
– Spread the word by talking with friends and family about this issue and follow us on social media (see links on the left of this page)
– Become an asylum expert! Read more about the issues affecting asylum seekers at our borders and in the Bay Area.
– To volunteer at EBSC: volunteer@eastbaysanctuary.org
WHAT IS TITLE 42?
Title 42 is a measure activated by the Trump administration to limit travel across US borders, supposedly to limit the spread of COVID-19. In practice, this has meant that US border authorities were instructed to turn away people seeking asylum in the US, in a breach of international asylum norms. The Biden administration has maintained this practice, although it now makes exceptions for children.
IS IT SCIENTIFIC?
No. The Trump administration’s use of Title 42 was initially resisted by CDC officials in 2020 (1) and has been decried by public health experts for being an anti-immigration measure disguised as a public health measure. Title 42 is premised on the argument that asylum seekers will overcrowd US processing facilities and spread COVID-19; health experts point out that asylum seekers could be paroled into the US while their cases are processed, avoiding long stays in those facilities in the first place (2).
“Trump got his wall – it’s called Title 42”
Title 42 has been an effective tool to make the asylum process even more difficult and miserable for asylum seekers. The Biden administration’s decision to lift Title 42 restrictions on minors but not their families forces many children to navigate the complicated and traumatic process of winning asylum alone, with very little help and often while confined to subpar living conditions in emergency facilities (3). And Title 42-based expulsions of Haitian asylum seekers to Mexico leaves Haitians vulnerable to antiblack discrimination and without assistance in their native language (4).