Washington, DC—Today’s court ruling blocking the end of the Title 42 authority is a grave disappointment and a wrong-headed action that undermines the United States’ long history of protecting the most vulnerable. It will plunge more children and families into deeper suffering and danger and cause continued family separation. Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) President Wendy Young issued the following statement:
“Relying on Title 42 authority to expel asylum seekers was a red herring from the start – a policy pulled out of obscurity by the Trump Administration to further its anti-immigrant goals and as an ineffective deterrence strategy. It’s usefulness as a policy to protect public health remains as specious as it was from the start and its goal remains the same: to keep those seeking safety – including children and families – from accessing the U.S. immigration system which by law gives them a chance to make their case to remain in the United States. Maintaining the Title 42 expulsion policy undermines the foundational value of the United States that ensures people are treated fairly under law – due process – and weakens our ability and moral authority to lead on fundamental human rights issues. It also ensures that children and families will remain highly vulnerable to death and violence, including gender-based violence, kidnapping, exploitation, and human trafficking. Many more children will be rendered unaccompanied as their parents disappear or come to other harm, or when the dangers of remaining in northern Mexico are too great for them to remain with their families.
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) urges to the Biden Administration to continue to forcefully fight to lift Title 42 and restore the United States’ ability to protect those who need it most. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration can take action now to help children alone at the border by opening ports of entry, hiring child welfare professionals to care for and screen children at the border, and co-locating Department of Health and Human Services officials at Customs and Border Protection facilities. These are important steps that can be taken irrespective of Title 42.”
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Media Contact: Megan McKenna, mmckenna@supportkind.org, 202-631-9990