WASHINGTON – A group of leaders at 14 Jesuit law and immigrant advocacy institutions sent a joint letter Wednesday to President Joseph R. Biden and key members of his administration, issuing an urgent call to end the use of the Title 42 Public Health Order, an immigrant expulsion policy put into effect by the Trump administration at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The letter, signed by a number of Jesuit law school deans, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA and the Border Justice Initiative at Gonzaga Law School, states that the “policy is unlawful, dangerous, and inflicts profound suffering on extremely vulnerable people” and that there is “no present public health justification for its continuation.”
In the two years since the legal provision’s enactment, Title 42 has been used to expel more than 1 million people seeking humanitarian protection at the U.S.-Mexico border. Now that most public health mandates related to COVID-19 have been lifted in the United States, the signatories hold that Title 42 should end as well.
“Grounded by our Jesuit mission, I feel a deep responsibility to stand up for the dignity and inherent rights of any displaced person. All asylum-seekers deserve a compassionate response. I hope that our collective voices against this misguided policy will inspire our leaders to enact change in support of lifting the Order for all those seeking protection at our border,” said Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor.
“Jesuit law schools have long defended the due process rights of asylum seekers, especially at the U.S. / Mexico border. Our programs and centers promote rule of law principles and provide access to justice for those seeking humanitarian protections, many of whom are Black and brown people fleeing persecution from around the world. I am proud to lend my name to this statement and encourage our government leaders to revoke the Title 42 Order and ensure the principles being championed by the Biden administration at this historic moment are reflected abroad and at home,” said Fordham Law School Dean Matthew Diller.
Treanor and Diller join 10 other law school deans as signatories expressing their urgent concern about the Biden administration’s continued use of the Title 42 Public Health Order to expel migrants and asylum seekers.
“JRS stands in partnership with our fellow Jesuit institutions in calling on the Administration to restore the legal right to seek asylum for all of our brothers and sisters seeking safety. We witness the impact of this harmful policy among asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border whose fate and security continue to be unknown. The U.S. must rescind Title 42 immediately so that no one is denied the right to seek protection,” said Jesuit Refugee Service/USA Director of Advocacy & Operations Giulia McPherson.
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