WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the two years since Title 42 was announced, it has proved dangerous for migrants, reduced order at the border, and benefited smugglers and cartels.
Furthermore, as the anniversary of its announcement approaches Sunday, any public-health rationale for the policy has faded, experts agree.
Implemented by President Donald Trump at the outset of the pandemic, Title 42 is a public-health protocol under which many migrants at the border are expelled and denied access to the asylum system.
Already, the administration is planning for human trafficking networks in Mexico and Central America to exploit an end to Title 42, as Axios reports this morning. That possibility only further demonstrates the need to wind down the policy and break the incentives that have allowed criminal elements to take advantage of it. Migrants bear the effects: According to an August Human Rights First report, there had been 6,356 publicly documented instances of kidnappings, sexual assaults, and other violent attacks on migrants who have been forcibly returned to Mexico under Title 42.
The policy also inflates border-crossing numbers, as many people who are turned away under Title 42 try to cross — and are counted — repeatedly. According to February numbers released this week, repeat crossers accounted for 30% of apprehensions.
"It is time for President Biden to end Title 42 and implement an orderly process," said Ali Noorani, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. "Title 42 serves the goals of cartels and smugglers, not Americans. The administration can take steps to replace Title 42 with policies that better protect due process and ultimately end the current cycle of exploitation by criminal networks.
"We can achieve border security through practical and humane processing, along with the strategic deployment of technology and personnel. There is no reason, public health or otherwise, to continue Title 42."
