Press Release

Washington – Today, Wednesday, March 30th, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign held its second press call of the week demanding the Centers for Disease Control follow the science and put an end to the misuse of public health authorities to expel refugees from our borders. Today’s call featured a range of voices who have first-hand experience on how Title 42 is impacting people at the U.S. border and beyond.

“We are near the next milestone of ending Title 42,” said Marisa Limón-Garza, Hope Border Institute. “We have witnessed the hardship and trauma asylum seekers endured because of the prohibition to enter the U.S. in an unjust way, allowed by Title 42. This is the time to end the policy. It is imperative that we take actions regarding Title 42 with thoughtful and coordinated responses from local government, NGOs, and partners working to address the humanitarian needs of all asylum seekers, ”

Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, Sidewalk School said, “The Sidewalk School, which started as an NGO that provided education needs to children, is now working on fundraising and building shelters in Reynosa. The Sidewalk School is one of three American NGOs that will come into the city in Reynosa and the neighboring encampment because of the high crime rates and violence. The situation is only being made worse because of Title 42. There is no difference between black and brown asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees; people are people, no human is illegal.” 

Emem Maurus, Transgender Law Center, said, “Title 42 is a policy that originated in the Trump Administration with a goal of stopping all migration coming from the US/Mexico border. Despite promises of returning to policies based on dignity, law, and science Biden has ramped up the implementation of Trump’s Title 42. It prevents anyone from crossing irrespective of their danger or quality of their asylum case. For LGBTQ asylum seekers the effects have been devastating. LGBTQ asylum seekers have been forced to wait in extraordinarily dangerous locations often without a safe place to sleep. Mexico is the second most dangerous place in the world for transgender women and yet the Biden Administration has refused to provide any exceptions for LGBTQ asylum seekers. Due to rampant anti-Blackness, Black LGBTQ asylum seekers have found themselves in greater peril and have suffered disproportionately. We call for an end to the blatantly racist and damaging policy immediately.”

Katharina Obser, Women’s Refugee Commission said, “The Women’s Refugee Commission’s recent trip to the border could not make more clear that Title 42 needs to end and end now. Countless people are trapped on the southern side of the U.S. border, hopeless and desperate for any chance to seek asylum in the U.S., and facing danger and insecurity that has been widely documented. As COVID restrictions in the U.S. wane and more populations have been excluded from the policy, this Trump era policy that was intentionally created to end access to asylum has lost all credibility, in addition to creating chaos and harm at the border. We urge the Biden administration to  end Title 42 once and for all and seize this opportunity to finally implement a fair, just, and dignified U.S. asylum system, one that doesn’t rely and expand on harmful practices like detention or returns to Mexico while someone goes through the U.S. immigration process. To do that, the administration must ensure that organizations on the ground are an essential part of the planning, coordination, and are resourced to support and welcome those seeking protection.”

Tomorrow’s press call will feature Representative Judy Chu (CA-27); Senior Vice President of Global Affairs at HIAS, Melanie Nezer; and Board Chair of the Afghan-American Foundation Joseph Azam. A recording of Tuesday’s call is available here.

The Welcome with Dignity Campaign is composed of more than 95  national and regional organizations committed to transforming the way the United States receives and protects people forced to flee their homes to ensure they are treated humanely and fairly. To learn more and join our campaign visit: welcomewithdignity.org

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