Human rights officials and two of the administration's medical advisers said President Joe Biden is under mounting pressure to reverse a Trump-era immigration law that has effectively closed the United States to most migrants during the pandemic. Title 42 requires border agents to drive people away at the southern border without allowing them the opportunity to apply for asylum in the US.
The expulsions are justified by the order as a health precaution to prevent the COVID-19 from spreading in detention centers. Two doctors who serve as consultants for the Department of Homeland Security wrote to members of Congress on Monday, claiming that the law has had the "perverse effect" of motivating parents to send their children to cross the border alone. Biden has opted not to automatically turn away minors and instead processes them into the US.
Most single adults and several migrants traveling as a family, on the other hand, continue to be turned around right away. The statement comes only days after Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the expulsions have had "significant humanitarian implications." Grandi is a rare critic of US immigration policy.
The Biden administration's support of Title 42 reflects a tough balancing act for the President: how to follow through on his promise to take a more humanitarian approach to refugees escaping poverty and oppression while still dealing with an influx of people seeking to enter the US. The President is also vulnerable to political attacks from Republicans and moderate Democrats, who say he risks losing border control.
Biden has stated that his administration would rely less on detention and more on initiatives that allow migrants to enter the country while being tracked to ensure they appear in immigration court. Since Biden took office, Human Rights First, a nonprofit advocacy group, released a report in April describing hundreds of assaults or kidnappings aimed at asylum seekers who have turned away as public health threats.
The secretary of health and human services, Xavier Becerra, told reporters on Monday that the administration was reviewing the border law but that no timetable for lifting it had been set. Becerra stated that the administration is working to "fix the different missions we have of protecting the public against further contraction of COVID-19, as well as ensuring that we implement our immigration and border control laws as best we can," NY Times reported. However, critics argue that the rule's effect on marginalized migrant families should not be overlooked.
According to The Associated Press, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saw no legal basis for the law when adopted in March 2020, said Scott Allen and Pamela McPherson. They consult as "subject-matter experts" for the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
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UN urges Biden to end Title 42 restrictions
The United Nations (UN) is pushing the Biden administration to "swiftly" end Title 42 public health restrictions, which were put in place during the Trump administration in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and allow for the rapid expulsion of migrants who arrive at the border. In March 2020, in response to the pandemic, the Trump administration enacted "Title 42" public health controls. For general health purposes, the restrictions allow for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the border.
Although the Biden administration has reversed various Trump-era border measures, Title 42 has primarily remained in place, except for unaccompanied minors and certain migrant families. Critics argue that this has enabled more children and families to risk their lives by crossing the border.
On the other hand, activists have been pressuring the Biden administration, claiming that the restrictions are cruel and excessive, as per Fox News. Grandi praised the administration's proposed border changes and Title 42 exemptions for families and children but called for the law to be repealed entirely.
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