OP-ED: Asylum Seekers Don’t Belong In Detention Centers
On March 20, 2020, the United States border closed down to all people without status in the U.S. - with certain exceptions - to prevent a larger scale COVID-19 outbreak. It was done through the Title 42 policy, which has been in place for over a year now. Recently, Title 42 has once again created some new problems for the immigrant community.
Once Title 42 was put into place last year, the U.S. began denying access to all asylum seekers. The increase in detention centers is due to Title 42 being enforced inconsistently by the CBP at different times across the border.
To make matters worse, these detention centers do not provide the best care for asylum seekers. They have little to no COVID-19 protocols, which is crucial considering the overpopulation of inmates. Detention centers have a notorious history of medically neglecting the health of detained immigrants. Last month, NMILC and the ACLU-NM sued Torrance County and CoreCivic for a chemical attack on asylum seekers engaged in a peaceful hunger strike at the Torrance County Detention Center in April 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Title 42 was put into place last year, under the Trump Administration, it made life very difficult for immigrants already trying to survive a global pandemic. Under Title 42, there have been over 650,000 migrant encounters at the U.S.- Mexico border. Of those, less than 1% were able to find protection from persecution or human right violations. There was a brief glimmer of hope when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were elected into office in 2020. Many disproportionately affected communities, like our immigrant communities, believed the Biden presidency would dismiss the policy. Although many health officials have stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has improved and it is safe to open the borders, President Biden has yet to lift the policy.
Many lawyers have stated that keeping this policy in action is unlawful. Even so, Biden has decided to continue with Title 42, and it looks like he is using it to regulate immigration in the United States. Even though the Trump Administration enacted Title 42, President Biden and his administration are still enforcing it. Creating a bigger divide within the U.S.
In keeping Title 42 in effect, the Biden Administration is putting many people in vulnerable and dangerous positions like sex trafficing, persicution, and other human rights violations. Not to mention the human rights violations migrants continue to face in detention centers across the U.S. today.
One solution could be to take detention centers and expulsion off the table all together. Instead, immigrants could enter the United States with sponsors. This would allow them to create a solid argument for their case and give them a better chance in court. Increasing COVID-19 testing and social distancing procedures, while keeping accountability, can be other humane alternatives to jailing asylum seekers for exercising their human right to ask for asylum.
Our immigrant community has, and continues to be, disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. We need our elected officials to take action, and we as a community need to hold them accountable.
Published on June 24, 2021 by Alessandra Silva, NMILC’s Summer Intern.