Press Release

Washington – Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign delivered a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris joined by more than 300 national and binational organizations demanding the administration end its misuse of the deadly anti-asylum Title 42 policy. The letter is the latest salvo by leading advocates to end the government’s use of the obscure provision to block people in danger from seeking asylum. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began expulsions under the Trump administration using orders by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – the first of which was issued on March 20, 2020. 

The letter states: 

“This policy has never been about public health: your administration is using Title 42 to single out and block people requesting protection in the United States at the same time as it has lifted travel restrictions for other travelers. Senior CDC scientists objected to the Title 42 order when it was issued under the Trump administration. Leading epidemiologists and medical experts have repeatedly affirmed that the policy undermines public health and have published rational, science-based measures to safely process people seeking protection at the border. But your administration has chosen to ignore these recommendations. Instead, DHS continues to turn away people seeking life-saving asylum protection along the border, including at ports of entry, while vaccinated tourists and shoppers can now enter the United States through these same ports.”

The 300+ signatories also enumerated the “litany” of horrors that have occurred during the Biden administration including at least 8,705 reports of kidnapping, rape, trafficking, torture, and other attacks on people blocked in or expelled to Mexico under Title 42 by your administration; at least 20,000 Haitian families and individuals, including asylum seekers, expelled or deported, to increasing danger in Haiti many without a chance to request asylum. 

The full text of the letter and list of signatories is available on the #WelcomeWithDignity website and is also available in Spanish. To arrange an interview with the drafters of the letter or a representative from one of the organizations who endorsed it, please contact press@welcomewithdignity.org. 

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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