20 MAY 2022

After Title 42 Ruling, Immigration Hub’s Talbot Calls on Democrats to Lead With Solutions and Refugee Protection 

WASHINGTON, DC - Judge Robert R. Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana just issued a preliminary injunction in the case of Arizona v. CDC. The case, brought by Republican Attorneys General against the Biden administration, seeks to keep the ban on entry of asylum-seekers under Title 42 in place indefinitely. Kerri Talbot, Deputy Director of the Immigration Hub issued the following statement in response:

“Judge Summerhays imposed an injunction that is very likely to remain in place beyond the midterms, ultimately eliminating the need for any congressional action while keeping in place an extremely harmful Trump era policy. Republican state Attorneys General are relying on the anti-immigrant judicial pipeline more than ever because they know Trump judges will impose temporary injunctions on Biden policies and thwart the will of the American public who voted for Biden. 

“The lives at stake are men, women, and children fleeing horrific violence and natural disasters from countries all over the world. They came to our border and requested protection because our laws and international law dictate that their claims should be heard and they thought we were a compassionate country. What they found out, of course, is that our country would reject them despite our decades-old asylum laws. 

“Democrats in Congress now have a choice - whether to weigh in on a moot issue and pass the Lankford-Sinema bill which would indefinitely end asylum or allow the courts to play this out. They can stand with the American majority that wants our country to have a fair, just, orderly system at the border. Or, they can let Republicans continue to push their vision of a walled off America that keeps out refugees and asylum seekers and peddles racially-charged ideologies that divide us as a nation.

“Democrats won the last election by promising a path forward, not a repeat of the past. The court’s decision makes any legislative action on Title 42 unnecessary and dangerous. Congress now has the opportunity to focus on reforms that people support - from protections for Dreamers to investments in President Biden’s plan to manage both migration and the border.”

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.