WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) Wednesday issued the following statement ahead of the Biden Administration lifting the Title 42 public health order Thursday:
“Title 42 is a harmful Trump-era relic designed to create chaos at the border and circumvent our domestic and international obligations to asylum seekers. It was never a solution, but rather part of the problem – a revolving door that increased irregular migration and turned away asylum seekers fleeing persecution and torture. The upcoming end to the policy presented the Biden Administration with a clear opportunity to reset their approach to migration. It is disappointing to see the Administration instead chose to move forward with a harmful transit ban that fundamentally limits access to our nation’s asylum system.”
“The Administration can live up to our nation’s values by implementing policies that secure our border, maintain our nation’s historic commitment to asylum seekers, and invest in migration management throughout the Western Hemisphere. They should deploy FEMA to support border communities in the short-term and ensure the Department of Homeland Security can safely relocate migrants to their end destinations where they can present their claims to asylum to relieve pressure at the border. At the same time, President Biden should continue to exercise his executive authority to expand legal pathways for migrants from Central America and help local economies thrive, as well as redesignate Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua for TPS, and issue a new TPS designation for Guatemala. This can be done while working to swiftly operationalize their proposed regional processing with partners in the region in order to provide alternatives for refugees and migrants arriving at our southern border.”
“We have repeatedly put forward recommendations to the Biden Administration. We are ready to work with the Administration at the border, but they must commit to doing so without fundamentally undermining our asylum system.”
