Two Years of Title 42: JRS/USA Urges Biden Administration To Terminate Immediately

21 March 2022

A group of women, men, and children all carrying backpacks and other luggage standing and waiting in line to get transportation.
Migrants wait in line to get transportation that will help them to reach the city of Guadalajara at a crossing on the outskirts of Irapuato. Image Credit: G. Ortega
Title 42 violates an individual’s right to apply for asylum and has inflicted unnecessary harm on too many lives. There is no public health rationale behind the use of Title 42 as COVID-19 mandates end and the U.S. implements measures to mitigate the pandemic.
Joan Rosenhauer, JRS/USA Executive Director

Today marks two years since the U.S. Government instituted Title 42 – a public health order that has prevented more than 1 million migrants from seeking humanitarian protection at the U.S.-Mexico border.  

JRS/USA has consistently voiced concern since Title 42 was first established in 2020 and has documented the negative impact in our report Seeking Protection in a Pandemic: COVID-19 and the Future of Asylum. 

“We urge the Biden Administration to end the use of Title 42 for all asylum-seekers,” said Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Director of Jesuit Refugee Service USA. “Title 42 violates an individual’s right to apply for asylum and has inflicted unnecessary harm on too many lives. There is no public health rationale behind the use of Title 42 as COVID-19 mandates end and the U.S. implements measures to mitigate the pandemic.” 

While we applaud the newest court ruling that ends the use of Title 42 for families facing danger, we call on decision makers to extend this reversal to all asylum seekers, including individuals. 

Please join us in urging the Biden Administration to terminate Title 42 immediately. The U.S. must do better by complying with domestic and humanitarian laws to ensure safe, fair access to the U.S. asylum system. 

Take Action with JRS/USA here