COVID-19 Relief Bills Can’t Be Trojan Horse to End Border Asylum
PLAN supports the Biden Administration’s decision to end Title 42 and calls on Senator Cortez Masto to stand with the President and Black immigrants
Las Vegas, NV–– In accordance with the Center of Disease Control (CDC), the Biden Administration has announced that the Title 42 policy will end by May 23, 2022. Title 42 is a World War II era policy resurrected by the Trump Administration that disproportionately targets Black asylum seekers, specifically Haitian migrants, for fast-tracked deportation and denying their legal right to claim asylum. Now, Senate republicans and moderate Senate Democrats want to make Title 42 permanent.
Laura Martin, Executive Director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada released the following statement:
“Ending Title 42 is a necessary step towards returning to regular order at the border. The Administration’s plan to rescind Title 42, which will roll back the cruel and harmful policy of the past administration, is an important step toward rebuilding a more fair, orderly and humane immigration system, starting with restoring access to asylum at the border.
“The Title 42 expulsion policy was wrong from the start. Not only did it violate international law and norms, it stood against everything our communities were built on and value. This is the result of persistent organizing by Black-led immigrant rights groups who stood up for all asylum seekers, not just white Eurpoeans. Title 42 and the “remain in Mexico” policy are being used to keep Black migrants from seeking asylum in the United States, and in many cases, regardless of country of origin, these migrants are sent to Haiti as that country faces political instability, COVID-19, and the fallout from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
“When the Biden Administration waived the Title 42 requirements for Ukrainian asylum seekers it became even more evident that racism is enshrined/embedded in the system.
“Before we celebrate the end of Title 42, immigrants and asylum seekers still need urgent action from our elected officials. The end of Title 42 does not mean that our asylum system is suddenly working. The country desperately needs an overhaul to our immigration and asylum system, to create one that doesn’t expel Black migrants at disproportionate rates, or tears families apart, and values the contributions that immigrants bring to our community. We urge our US Senators, Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, to stand firm in the face of systemic racism and against the proposed amendments that would preserve Title 42. Our community needs our elected officials to let the Title 42 policy finally die.
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The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada was founded in 1994 by Nevada activists to build a more fair and just Nevada that puts people and planet first. We organize with front line communities and directly impacted leaders for policy changes and community investments that improve the lives of Nevadans