The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) on Tuesday applauded what it describes as the “historic life-saving decision” of a US District Court judge in Washington, D.C. in blocking the implementation of Title 42, which has expelled migrants along the Southern border on the pretextual basis of public health concerns.
District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that the Title 42 order is “arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.”
NYIC, a coalition of over 200 immigration advocacy groups in New York, hailed this decision to protect the rights of asylum seekers, while demanding expanded protections for people seeking freedom in the United States.
“From its inception, Title 42 has been used as a blatantly racist policy and tool, flagrantly violating the rights of asylum seekers,” Murad Awawdeh, NYIC’s executive director, told Caribbean Life. “It has been disturbing to watch Title 42 survive and expand under the Biden administration, despite their initial commitment to end Trump-era policies that cruelly politicized people seeking refuge.
“Title 42 has caused profound suffering and has directly jeopardized lives by forcing people to remain in dangerous conditions for no justifiable reason,” he added. “Judge Sullivan’s decision today to block the implementation of Title 42 will help protect people pursuing freedom and safety in our country, and is a clear step forward in defending people’s basic human rights.
“Ending Title 42 is only the beginning,” Awawdeh continued. “President Biden and Congress must move to restore and expand protections for asylum seekers, so that the United States can once again exist as a true symbol of hope and opportunity for people across the world.”
According to CNN, Tuesday’s court order leaves the Biden administration without one of the key tools it had deployed to address the thousands of migrants arriving at the border on a daily basis and could restore access to asylum for arriving migrants.
The Biden administration has requested a stay on the ruling for five weeks, according to a court filing.
While the rule was drafted by the Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration has relied heavily on it to manage the increase of migrants at the border, CNN reported.
It said, prior to Title 42, all migrants arrested at the border were processed under immigration law.
Judge Sullivan blamed the Atlanta-based US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which issued the public health order, for “its decision to ignore the harm that could be caused” by issuing the policy.
“With regard to whether defendants could have ‘ramped up vaccinations, outdoor processing, and all other available public health measures,’ the court finds the CDC failed to articulate a satisfactory explanation for why such measures were not feasible,” Sullivan wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security said that, if granted, “the delay in implementation of the court’s order will allow the government to prepare for an orderly transition to new policies at the border.”
Murad Awawdeh, NYIC’s executive director.
Photo courtesy NYIC
