Washington, D.C. – First implemented by the Trump administration and contrived by Stephen Miller, today marks the end of Title 42, which denied people their right to asylum. With the end of Title 42 comes new administrative proposals and regulations, and legislation seeking to replace it. This week, the House will be voting on HR 2, and Senators Sinema and Tillis will propose a new border security bill to the Senate, both proposed responses that continue the harmful legacy of Title 42, dismantle our asylum system and codify the most harmful provisions from the Trump administration.
Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Deputy Director of Federal Advocacy of United We Dream, said:
“As the cruel policy known as Title 42 comes to an end we need to prioritize humane policies that reaffirm people’s right to seek asylum. The numerous proposals we’ve seen in regards to the border including a proposal from Senators Sinema and Tillis and H.R. 2 in the House extracts the cruel tactics of Title 42 now without the guise of public health and goes even further to dismantle our immigration system and harm our communities through expedited removals, family detention, and the deportation of unaccompanied children. Anything that resembles Title 42 and denies people the freedom to move and their right to asylum will continue to revert us back to the roots of white nationalism.
Some politicians want to use the end of Title 42 to create narratives around scarcity, or telling us we cannot live up to our values of embracing immigrant people and treating them with dignity and respect. These tactics are used to instill fear and create division in our community. On the contrary, we have the ability to welcome people in hard times. We must respect people’s freedom to move in search of a better life. These proposed bills add fuel to anti-immigrant sentiments and need to be rejected in favor of welcoming people at the border with dignity and respect. We call on every reasonable member of the House who denounced the atrocities of the Trump administration to now vote no on HR2. In addition, we urge Democratic leadership to not allow the Sinema/Tillis legislation to be considered. These times call us to pick a side – and we must reject policies of division.”
