For Immediate Release
April 4, 2022
Contacts:
Arianna Rosales, National Immigration Project, arianna@nipnlg.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last Friday, following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Biden administration announced the termination of Title 42, a Trump-era policy that has blocked tens of thousands of people from accessing the U.S. immigration and asylum system since March 2020. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated that the termination will take effect on May 23, 2022.
In response, Sirine Shebaya, Executive Director of the National Immigration Project, said:
"Ending Title 42 is the right and legal thing to do – and it is long overdue. For more than two years, Title 42 has cruelly prevented people from exercising their right to seek asylum and has disproportionately impacted Black asylum seekers at the border. Title 42 has always been rooted in anti-Blackness and should have never been implemented in the first place.
"While we are glad the Biden administration has listened to the calls from migrants, advocates, and human rights leaders and finally moved to end Title 42, we are also concerned that its wind-down plan includes a renewed focus on re-entry prosecutions under Section 1326, a discriminatory law that continues to fuel the mass incarceration of Black and brown people, waste government resources, and tear families apart. In order to create a just and humane immigration system, the Biden administration must address the layers of racist and anti-Black laws in place and build a new immigration system that centers the dignity and humanity of every individual."
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The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG) is a national non-profit organization that provides technical assistance and support to community-based immigrant organizations, legal practitioners, and all advocates seeking and working to advance the rights of noncitizens. NIPNLG utilizes impact litigation, advocacy, and public education to pursue its mission. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow NIPNLG on social media: National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild on Facebook, @NIPNLG on Twitter and Instagram.