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We know you’re hearing a lot about Title 42 right now, and we at the National Immigration Law Center want to help you make sense of it all. Here’s what you need to know about the inhumane Title 42 expulsion order:

1. Title 42 is Stephen Miller’s brainchild. Just over two years ago, the Trump administration weaponized Section 265 of U.S. Code Title 42 of the 1944 Public Health Services Law — as a part of its anti-immigrant agenda — to block Black and Brown migrants from seeking asylum at the U.S. border. In fact, Miller wanted to invoke Title 42 before the Covid-19 pandemic and tried to justify using it during a mumps outbreak in 2019 and a flu outbreak in 2018.
2. Title 42 has kept the U.S. border effectively closed to asylum seekers for over two years, denying tens of thousands of migrants fleeing danger their legal right to seek this life-saving protection.
3. Title 42 expulsions put asylum seekers in grave danger. Human rights organizations have documented nearly ten thousand instances of people being kidnapped, tortured, sexually assaulted, and murdered due to Title 42, including families with small children and vulnerable people fleeing violence and persecution.
4. The Title 42 policy is rooted in xenophobia and discrimination. The order disproportionately impacts Black, brown, and LGBTQ people seeking asylum, especially Haitians. In a little over a year, over 21,000 Haitians have been expelled back to dangerous conditions in Haiti.
5. There is no public health rationale for Title 42 expulsions. Public health experts, doctors, and other medical professionals have repeatedly named that there is simply no epidemiological evidence to justify banning asylum seekers from the U.S.
6. The Biden administration announced it would end Title 42 expulsions on May 23, 2022. In a testament to the strength of the immigrant rights movement, this announcement marked an important step forward to repeal this deadly policy.
7. Ending Title 42 expulsions is a popular decision. Along with public health experts, immigrant rights organizations, and Congressional leaders, 52% of likely 2022 voters support ending the policy, evidenced in a recent poll from the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund.
8. Some politicians are using the end of Title 42 to stoke fear and score “political points.” The “Stephen Miller Bill”, led by Senators Lankford and Sinema, which seeks to revive Title 42, is a political stunt devoid of any real solutions.
9. Asylum is a fundamental legal right enshrined in U.S. and international law. Not to mention, Title 42 directly violates our country’s purported values of being a beacon of hope and freedom for all.
10. Our country has the capacity to restore our asylum system for all seeking safety and to keep people safe and families together. Communities across the border are ready to coordinate with the government to welcome people seeking safety at our borders.

There is no doubt about it — Stephen Miller’s Title 42 expulsion order is a morally reprehensible policy that has been used for 2+ years to illegally block and expel people seeking protection, inflicting immense harm upon asylum seekers and their loved ones.

As this political battle unfolds and we continue our fight to protect asylum seekers, we are relying on you to share this information with the people in your life. , if you are able, forward this email along to help us disarm disinformation and share the facts about Title 42 expulsions.

Thanks,

Marielena Hincapié
Executive Director
National Immigration Law Center