KIND Urges Full Access to Protection for Children Alone, End of Title 42 as Secretary Mayorkas Visits Border

August 12, 2021

Washington, D.C.— As Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas prepares to speak to the press at the border in Brownsville, Texas, today, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) urges the Biden Administration to ensure that all unaccompanied children can seek protection at the U.S.-Mexico border and end Title 42. Unaccompanied children are still unable to access ports of entry, and families seeking safety in the United States continue to be turned away, unable to apply for protection because of the Biden administration’s refusal to end the use of Title 42.

Ahead of today’s press conference, KIND President Wendy Young issued the following statement:

Every day that Title 42 remains in place is a day that countless families seeking safety in the United States live in danger and great fear. Its use never had a legitimate basis in public health, as prominent public health experts have stated. To keep this senseless policy in place is to needlessly put endangered lives at more risk, including young children. There are other ways to implement COVID safety measures without forcing people to languish in dangerous encampments or reside in places where they are prey to those seeking to exploit them. Additionally, while the administration has excepted unaccompanied children from Title 42, these children are still unable to present themselves for protection at ports of entry, denying them critical access to protection. It is long past time to allow full access to U.S. protection for the most vulnerable at the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Media Contact: Megan McKenna, mmckenna@supportkind.org, 202-631-9990