In five weeks, the US must suspend Title 42 on migrants

First modification: 11/17/2022 – 10:08

On December 21, the controversial Title 42, the legislation promoted by Donald Trump to keep thousands of migrants out of the United States due to suspicions of Covid, and that Joe Biden and the Department of Homeland Security followed, will be suspended by order of Judge Emmet Sullivan. applying.

Control of the flow of migrants

“Biden’s campaign commitment was to restore access to asylum at the border, and yet they continued to use it for people from Mexico, from Central America, and recently expanded it even to people from Venezuela. He made it clear that Title 42 is no longer a public health measure, but something the government was using to control the flow of people arriving at the border and who could enter the country,” Maureen Meyers, vice president of Programs at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a human rights organization.

“So, yes, this has been a great challenge for the Government, to be more consistent among its commitments to ensure that each person who needs protection has the possibility of approaching the border and, on the other hand, to continue using measures that were beneficial for them. because the number of migrants arriving in the United States decreased,” he continues.

Dangerous conditions in Mexico

The judge, Emmet Sullivan, ruled that this measure was “arbitrary and capricious”, and said he agreed with “much reluctance” to the request of the Joe Biden government to continue applying the so-called Title 42 on the border with Mexico for five more weeks, to be able to prepare for a feared avalanche of migrants, the vast majority of whom are Latin Americans.

According to Maureen Meyers, “there are two main themes of the judge’s decision.” On the one hand, “the Government was never able to verify the benefit of public health with the measure.” On the other hand, “the government knew of the dangers involved in expelling these people to Mexico,” “to dangerous cities, where they were subjected to many crimes such as kidnapping, robbery, and sexual assault.”

Now, the expert emphasizes, “any person of any nationality could approach the border to seek protection,” and “these people would no longer be expelled to these dangerous conditions in many Mexican border cities.”

Tuesday’s ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed in January by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) accusing DHS and Border Patrol of “summary removal” of vulnerable families seeking asylum who show no signs of infection. by covid.