01 APR 2022

National Immigration Leaders Applaud President Biden's Decision to Revoke Title 42

WASHINGTON, DC - During a press call today, national immigration experts, including Tyler Moran, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor on Migration, Sergio Gonzales, the Executive Director of Immigration Hub, and Frank Sharry, founder and Executive Director of America’s Voice, applauded the CDC's decision to fully revoke Title 42 by May 23. 

By ending Title 42, President Biden is recommitting America’s values by responsibly welcoming those seeking safety and refuge right here at home- as the country’s European allies have done abroad. This is an important and commendable action by the Biden administration to roll back cruel and harmful policies of the past and implement new ones to gradually rebuild a more fair, orderly and humane immigration system.

"Ending Title 42 is not 'open borders' – it is a regular order where people have the right to ask for asylum,” said Tyler Moran, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor on Migration. “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. While Republicans are using this moment to whip up their base for the midterms, they have no solutions. The Biden administration has a strategy in place to respond to changing migration patterns.”

“The Republican response to the lifting of Title 42 is as predictable as it is fact free,” said Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive Director, America’s Voice. “Senate Republicans are distributing memos on how they plan to run against what they call the ‘Biden Border Crisis’ in the midterms. Tucker Carlson and others on the right are trying to mainstream conspiracy theories regarding invasions and replacement theory. I think we really need to pick apart some of these Republican claims.” He added “And, in an apples-to-apples comparison, the number of asylum applicants admitted into America during the spike under Trump 2018-19 was more than the number of asylum applicants admitted during the spike under Biden in 2021. The Biden administration has a solid plan to end Title 42 and manage the expected increase in border apprehensions.”

“This is a really important and historic day. It is a return to American values. It’s a return to the American promise and taking us further away from the Trump family separation policy doctrine to an immigration agenda that’s rooted in fairness, humanity, and importantly functionality,” said Sergio Gonzales, executive director of the Immigration Hub. “This is about a return to normalcy. Just as our country is returning to normal from the pandemic, as masks are going away, as businesses are opening back up, we must ensure a return to a fair asylum system. That means that you’re able to actually apply for asylum as is provided for by international and national law.”

The CDC’s decision comes after members of Congress, leading immigration, legal, and children’s advocates have repeatedly called on the Biden administration to revoke Title 42. President Biden, however, has taken commendable action to roll back cruel and harmful policies of the past and implement new ones to gradually rebuild a more fair, orderly and humane immigration system. Now, by fully revoking Title 42, President Biden can continue to step up as he has on the global stage by responsibly welcoming those seeking safety and refuge right here at America’s borders – as our European allies have done abroad. The Biden administration’s plan will restore asylum and manage any increase in migration.  

See the Immigration Hub’s memo on President Biden’s plan to manage migration and the border here.

###

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.