Immigrant Rights Advocates Fear Title 42 Reinstatement After Three States Sue Biden Administration For Terminating Policy

Media Contact: Flaviano Graciano, fgraciano@nmilc.org

4|5|2022

Albuquerque, N.M. - Yesterday, the states of Arizona, Louisiana, and Missouri filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over its plan to end Title 42 border restrictions. Last week, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced that it will end the use of Title 42 for all migrants and asylum seekers starting May 23, 2022. Although this was a first step in the right direction, immigrant rights advocates remain fearful of an injunction in the recently filed lawsuit that could call for the continuation of the policy. Moreover, NMILC and other immigration advocates remain concerned that migrants and asylum seekers will continue to be subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), immigration detention, or carceral surveillance once Title 42 expulsions end. 

NMILC calls on the Biden Administration to welcome migrants and asylum seekers with dignity, and discontinue the use of carceral policies that are in flagrant violations of our international obligations.  

Sophia Genovese, Senior Attorney at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said:

 “The decision to terminate Title 42 is long overdue. Over the past two years, Title 42 expulsions have forced migrants and asylum seekers back into danger, leading to thousands of kidnappings, assaults, and other violence. Title 42 was never about public health – it was anti-Black and xenophobic from the start.

NMILC calls on the Biden Administration to welcome migrants and asylum seekers with dignity, and not subject them to cruel deterrence policies such as MPP or other unlawful turnback policies. Additionally, we call on the Administration to release migrants and asylum seekers on parole or on their own recognizance instead of subjecting them to detention or carceral surveillance such as electronic monitoring.”

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New Mexican Immigrant Law Center's mission is to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education. You can find more about NMILC online at nmilc.org.