Washington, DC– Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) welcomes U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan’s ruling this evening that vacates the Title 42 policy that has virtually closed the border to those seeking protection. The previous Administration instituted the policy in March 2020 under the guise of protecting public health. Finding the policy “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, Judge Sullivan also said that he would not grant any request for a stay.
KIND President Wendy Young issued the following statement:
“We are overjoyed that asylum seekers can once again access the border to seek protection. The policy known as Title 42 has been a deepening stain on the United States’ leadership in the protection of the most vulnerable. Preventing asylum seekers, including families, from seeking protection at our border runs counter to the most fundamental of our values as a nation and has set a dangerous global precedent. Public health officials have long denounced the order as unnecessary and harmful. The recent expansion of Title 42 to include desperate families from Venezuela has widened the misery and led to family separation.
The reversal of this policy will bring profound relief to thousands who have been suffering for years in often deadly conditions. It is long past time to allow them the ability to seek protection in the United States and a fair chance of safety and a hopeful future.
The return to processing asylum seekers at the border will represent a restoration of our values and to upholding the laws that have guided our immigration system for nearly 50 years.”
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Media Contact: Megan McKenna, mmckenna@supportkind.org, 202-631-9990