US Officials Must Lift Title 42 Without Further Delay

Today, expulsions under Title 42 were meant to end, yet this inhumane practice continues due to a recent federal court decision that ruled against lifting the pandemic-related asylum restriction. Responding to this news, Amy Fischer, Americas Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA, said:

"Friday's decision to block the termination of Title 42 is devastating for the tens of thousands of asylum-seekers at our border in need of protection. This outcome follows the dangerous pattern of some states using the U.S. legal system to prevent the Administration from ending xenophobic, anti-immigrant policies.

"Seeking safety is a human right, not a 'crisis.' The only real crisis is our government's blatant disregard for the rights of those arriving at our border, as any efforts to keep Title 42 in place will needlessly continue to put people seeking safety - with Black and Brown people disproportionately impacted - in grave danger and deny them their human right to seek asylum. The Biden administration is perfectly capable of meeting the needs at the border, in coordination with direct service providers and local groups. U.S. Congress should redirect their efforts toward repairing and rebuilding the broken asylum system - not reinforce hateful legislation by leveraging public health and safety funds.

"Members of Congress must have the moral courage to oppose any amendments or legislation meant to keep this unlawful, hateful policy in place and block access to asylum. Title 42 expulsions were slated to end today. Now, every day that Title 42 remains in place is another day that the United States continues to put politics over humanity."