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Visual Explainer: US - Immigration Title 42 Explainer
May 10, 2023
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptFor more than two years, the Biden administration kept in place at the U.S. southern border a Trump-era policy known as Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to quickly expel migrants to their country of origin or Mexican border towns.
On April 1, 2022, the administration announced the policy would end on May 23, 2022, giving U.S. officials time to prepare for what they expected to be an increase in migrant arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border.
But 19 Republican-led states were against the decision to end Title 42. And through various lawsuits, they tried to keep the guideline in place. Ultimately, the Biden administration will be allowed to lift the order.
So, again, what is Title 42?
(TEAMS)
Theresa Cardinal Brown, Bipartisan
Policy Center
“So, when we say Title 42, what we're actually referring to is an order issued by the director of the Centers for Disease Control.”
And that CDC order empowered border enforcement agencies to remove migrants crossing into the United States, including those hoping to apply for asylum, which is their right under U.S. law and international treaty.
Title 42 also blocked the entry of asylum-seekers who presented themselves at ports of entry under the policy.
(TEAMS)
Theresa Cardinal Brown, director,
immigration and cross-border policy at
the Bipartisan Policy Center. “It's aimed specifically at the entry of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border who do not have documents."
Once Title 42 was implemented at the U.S.-Mexico border, immigrants encountered by border patrol officers were sent back to Mexico within hours or back to their country of origin within days — without any legal consequence to those who tried to cross between ports of entry. They were also blocked from asking for asylum.
(TEAMS)
Theresa Cardinal Brown, director,
immigration and cross-border policy at
the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“If they had been processed under immigration law, there would be a consequence that would make it harder for them to come back legally under immigration law. So, by using Title 42, there was no consequence, and therefore what we saw was many immigrants, particularly Mexicans, who had been expelled back to Mexico, would simply try again."
According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data, Title 42 has been used in most of the estimated 2 million expulsions of migrants from Brazil, Central America, Haiti, Mexico, and Colombia since March 2020. The number of encounters is higher than the actual number of migrants crossing the border, because many of those
migrants are crossing multiple times in the same month.
In March, U.S. border officials registered 162,317 migrant encounters. Of those, 87,661 were expelled. About 23% of those were people who tried to cross more than once.
Federal law allows people from other countries to seek asylum in the United States if they fear persecution at home. They must be present in the U.S. and prove a fear of persecution on one of five grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social class.
After May 11, U.S. border officials say they’re expecting arrivals to increase at the southern border but added that those unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed.
Luis Miranda, US Customs and Border
Protection
“We'll simply go back to processing any encounters across the border the way we always have under Title 8, which is the immigration authority that has always been in place throughout the history of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. … But ultimately, if someone is trying to come in without legal authorization and doesn't have the legal basis to stay, they will be placed in removal proceedings.”
Title 8 is not a new law. It’s part of the code of laws of the United States that deals with immigration and nationality. This means that if a migrant passes what's called a credible fear screening by the asylum officer, then their case is referred to immigration court — where the migrant can apply for asylum as a defense against being deported. If they don't pass the initial screening or are denied in immigration court, the applicant will be removed. If they try to come back without documents, the penalties can be higher, such as being prosecuted under criminal law and denied the ability to apply for any legal immigration visa in the future.
[[End–VOA –A Free Press Matters]]
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 9, 2023 20:20 EDT
Byline
Aline Barros
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
