07 APR 2022

Bad Politics, Bad Policy: Lankford-Sinema Bill Would Create A Family Separation Crisis and Chaos At The Border

Keeping Title 42 is a Losing Midterm Strategy, Fails to Deliver for Voters

WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday evening, Senators James Lankford (R - OK) and Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) announced they would introduce a new bill that would make it near impossible to revoke Title 42, a Trump-imposed policy set to be fully rescinded by May 23 as determined by the CDC. The Lankford-Sinema bill, the Public Health and Border Security Act of 2022, politicizes COVID-related emergency public health designations, putting health related programs and funding in jeopardy as they would then be tied to immigration policy. Ultimately, the bill would also have immensely harmful impacts on families and worsen America’s asylum system. 

“Democrats who choose to support this bill are making a gross political misstep,” stated Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. “Keeping Title 42 in place only makes matters worse at the border. There is no order or process in place to manage migration without fully revoking Title 42 and allowing President Biden’s plan to take effect with the tools and personnel that would mitigate any increase in migration. 

This bill is a false and twisted Republican proposal that we’ve seen before– a Trojan horse that promises ‘border security’ but in reality will cruelly separate families and create chaos at the border. Any Democrat betting on continuing an abhorrent Stephen Miller policy to secure electoral support is making a losing wager. The American public supports solutions that prioritize families and ensure an orderly process at the border where Ukrainians and other asylum seekers fleeing war, political violence and persecution are guaranteed an opportunity to make their case. This bill jeopardizes our very values and promise to both the American people and those seeking protection. 

“How can the United States continue to not even so much as have a process for refugees and asylum seekers at our southern border while our European allies demonstrate tremendous compassion for Ukrainian refugees abroad? The impacts will be felt immediately and viscerally, long into the midterms and beyond.”

The Immigration Hub strongly opposes the Lankford-Sinema bill: 

  • This bill flies in the face of science and ties the hands of the CDC. It would force the CDC and DHS to keep border expulsions in place and contradict the CDC’s scientific analysis which found that the expulsion policy is not necessary to protect public health.

  • This bill politicizes COVID-related emergency public health designations, putting health related programs and funding in jeopardy as they would then be tied to immigration policy.

  • Rescinding Title 42 is a return to regular order: Those who request asylum will be processed into the country so they can pursue their case; those who don’t request asylum or who lose their case will be removed.

  • Title 42 exacerbates the flows of individuals at the border. Title 42 actually increases the flow of individuals at the border because people quickly return to attempt reentry when their cases are not considered appropriately. The link between Title 42 and an increased rate of repeat crossings has been repeatedly acknowledged by DHS officials. In total, the rate at which people crossed the border multiple times rose from 7% in March 2020 to 40% by October 2020 while Title 42 was in place, before falling to an annual rate of 27% throughout 2021 as an increasing number of asylum seekers couldn’t be expelled and made it in on their first attempt.

  • This bill puts Ukrainians, Afghans, Venezuelans, Cubans and others at risk: If this bill passes, Ukrainians, Afghans, and other nationalities, including those fleeing from communism and persecution, would be forcibly removed from the U.S. without access to protection and flown back to dangerous conditions.

  • Congress should support immigration reform. Reforming our immigration system is not easy. And Republican obstructionism has thwarted the strong public support for action. But we can manage migration effectively, process refugees who need protection, work with neighbors in the region to crack down on human smugglers, reduce forced migration and channel migrants into legal avenues and ports of entry, and govern our border with both order and justice.

  • Title 42 fuels violence and chaos at the southern border. Since President Biden took office, there have been at least 9,866 reports of violent attacks - including rape, kidnapping, and assault - against people blocked from requesting protection at the U.S.-Mexico border and/or expelled to Mexico under Title 42, as tracked by Human Rights First.

  • Title 42 has had a disparate impact on Black migrants seeking safety. Under the Biden administration, Title 42 has been used to expel Black refugees back to the countries they fled and to dangerous regions in Mexico without access to the U.S. asylum process. Despite national outcry following brutality against Haitian families in Del Rio, the administration’s cruelty towards Haitian people seeking asylum has escalated. Since taking office the administration has sent over 20,600 Haitians - including pregnant women, children and babies - back to Haiti.

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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.