Rebuild Asylum System that Welcomes With Dignity

TX 78703

People of Faith on Title 42 Announcement: Rebuild Asylum System that Welcomes With Dignity

·       Franciscans For Justice

·       In Action Alerts, Creation, Immigration

by Melissa Stek

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced its plans to terminate Title 42 by May 23. The public health order, first invoked by the Trump administration and continued by the Biden administration, has been misused for over two years to block migrants from seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border under the guise of protecting public health. Title 42 has resulted in approximately 1.7 million expulsions of asylum seekers back to harm, which has disproportionately impacted Black migrants. Over 10,000 documented incidents of kidnapping, torture, rape, and other violent attacks against vulnerable migrants have been reported since the start of the Biden administration due to Title 42. 

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition welcomes the decision to terminate Title 42 as a beginning step towards rebuilding a just and humane asylum system. Following the lead of immigrant groups, faith organizations have been persistent in their efforts to urge the Biden administration to put an end to Title 42, Remain in Mexico, and other inhumane, asylum-blocking policies, and to restore a humane and just asylum system built on the faith values of hospitality and welcome, with due process and without discrimination. 

Upon the CDC’s announcement and as the administration builds on its plans for governing the U.S. southern border in the coming months, member organizations of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition call on the Biden administration to: 

• immediately halt Title 42 expulsions and put an end to the Remain in Mexico policy (“Migrant Protection Protocols”) and all other border policies that restrict migrants’ access to asylum;
• collaborate and communicate directly with border organizations as partners to ensure they have the resources they need to welcome people in need of safety;
• work closely with sending and transit countries to holistically address root causes to forced migration;
• and restore a welcoming asylum system that protects people from detention and being returned to dangerous situations, and gives equal opportunity to all people fleeing violence and persecution, without discrimination.

Our faith traditions call us to welcome vulnerable people with warmth and open arms, and we call on the Biden administration to do the same. We urge him as a fellow person of faith to join us in being fully prepared to welcome all people with dignity by providing a comprehensive and clearly-communicated plan to build an equitable, humane, and anti-racist asylum system. We eagerly await these plans and we eagerly await the opportunity to welcome our new neighbors.

“For too long this inhumane and xenophobic policy forced or returned the world’s most vulnerable people to danger. Its termination is a vital first step towards removing a policy rooted in fear and hate. While we welcome this decision, we call on the administration to immediately halt all expulsions of asylum seekers and work closely with groups and communities who have continuously stood ready to welcome them, including faith communities,” said Elissa Diaz, Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy, Church World Service. “Title 42 weaponized the COVID-19 pandemic, operating under the guise of public health to forcefully block access to safety from over a million men, women, and children. Public health experts, including former CDC officials, consistently stated this illegal and immoral policy lacks rationale, and further harms individuals seeking safety. Each day it remains in place and expulsions continue, lives remain in danger—with a disproportionate impact on Black migrants and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We urge the administration to honor its commitment to restore and expand a just and humane asylum system that welcomes people with dignity, without discrimination.”

“We are relieved to hear that the Biden administration finally plans to end Title 42 expulsions,” said Susan Gunn, Director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. “We pray this decision is part of a larger effort to restore the asylum system to allow fair processing of migrants and asylum seekers. The migrants arriving at our Southern border are precious children of God with unalienable human dignity. Forced to make impossible decisions to protect their families, they have been ignored for too long. We call for robust support for border communities that will be the first responders as Title 42 is wound down and for a wider network of welcome for migrants in asylum proceedings throughout the country. We call for attention to the root causes of migration so that families have the choice to stay home. In the migrant, we hear the voice of Jesus saying, ‘I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.’”

“We embrace the interest of the Biden administration to terminate Title 42,” said Elket Rodriguez, Immigrants and Refugees Advocacy and Missions Specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “This administration must not continue to expel migrants to Mexico and expose them to kidnappings, torture, rape, and aggressions. The time has come to welcome all refugees, regardless of their racial or ethnic background. There is no valid reason to delay the termination of the policy. None at all. Title 42 has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that expelling migrants and denying them access to asylum processing does not work to avoid the spread of COVID-19, deter migrants from seeking safety, or address increases in border crossers. On the contrary, expelling migrants encourages repeat border crossings and increases the work of immigration officials.”

“We are relieved to hear that President Biden heard immigrants, faith leaders and advocates call  to end the Title 42 expulsion policy. However, we are dismayed by the delay in terminating this policy. For many immigrants, especially Black immigrants at our southern border, delay means death,” said Ronnate Asirwatham, Director of Government Relations, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. “The Biden administration has had two years to prepare for the end of Title 42. The administration needs to work with our faith and secular colleagues who are ready to welcome immigrants at the border as partners, in order that we can restore a just and humane asylum system at the border.”

“Border communities welcome the news of the end of Title 42,” said Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute. “With strong collaboration and support from the administration, we can safely and humanely receive those seeking asylum. This is a moment not only to begin to rebuild, but to dream of a future where all those in need of protection are welcomed and protected with dignity and compassion.” 

“America’s welcome mat is quite tattered and stained following the anti-immigration efforts of the last five years,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, Executive Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd had hoped that America would put out a fresh, clean welcome mat with President Biden’s arrival in the White House. While we had thus far been disappointed, we are heartened by the announcement of the end of Title 42, and see it as a first step toward setting out that new welcome mat. We call on the Biden administration to cease expelling migrants immediately and put an end to all other asylum-blocking policies. Let us restore not just America’s welcome, but the welcome called upon us by God making clear the truth that all are created equal through human dignity.” 

“Migrants, asylum seekers, and advocates welcome the announcement that the Biden administration will finally end Title 42 expulsions on May 23rd,”  said Sister Marie Lucey OSF, Associate Director of Franciscan Action Network (FAN). “Too many families and individuals seeking safety and protection from extreme violence, poverty, and/or oppression in their home countries have been turned away at our southern border. We urge immediate cessation of expulsions, funds for processing asylum seekers, and assistance for border communities and agencies welcoming them. As Franciscans, we believe that all persons have human dignity and are our sisters and brothers.”

“We commend the Biden administration for taking steps to end Title 42,” said Barbara Weinstein, Director of the Reform Jewish Movement’s Commission on Social Action. “This unjust and unwise policy has been a stain on American immigration policy for far too long. Deuteronomy teaches the importance of protecting those fleeing dangerous conditions, telling of the imperative to protect the escaped enslaved person—an archetype of someone in physical danger (23:16). Our commitment to just immigration and asylum policies is rooted in this text and our own history as a people fleeing persecution. We urge the administration to swiftly welcome asylum seekers without discrimination.”

“We welcome the Biden administration’s long-overdue decision to end Title 42 – a cruel, inhumane, and racist policy that has subverted the American asylum system for the past two years,” said Kristin Kumpf, Director of Human Migration and Mobility with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). “We hope that this decision reflects a commitment to welcoming all people seeking safety, without any increase in deportations, detention, border militarization, or surveillance. The CDC has stated that there is no public health rationale for Title 42, so we call on the Administration to immediately halt all Title 42 expulsions. Every additional expulsion means another life impacted by immoral policies. The Administration must invest in restoring our asylum system and supporting border communities and organizations that are already welcoming migrants.”

“As Jews, we know that refugee policy can be a matter of life or death,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. “Many of our own families fled danger to find refuge in the United States. We welcome the announcement that Title 42 will soon no longer be used to deny entry to asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Seeking asylum is a right under U.S. law, and we urge the Biden administration to do everything in their power to dignify the humanity of every asylum seeker by halting expulsions now, funding asylum processes, and supporting the border community agencies welcoming refugees.”

“We know that our nation is at its best when we welcome refugees and asylum seekers with open arms,” said Anna Gallagher, Executive Director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). “We see this reflected in the quick steps the Biden administration has taken to respond to the refugee and humanitarian crises caused by war in Ukraine. As the administration takes this long-awaited first step towards removing barriers to asylum, we urge the administration to make a full and unequivocal commitment to rebuild an asylum system that welcomes all people with dignity. Heeding the callings of their faith, CLINIC’s affiliates and partners at the border are ready and eager to work with the administration to welcome families, children and adults to safety immediately.” 

Stated Kristyn Peck, CEO, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA), “Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA) welcomes the opportunity to end the use of Title 42, which resulted in the return of vulnerable individuals to the turbulent countries they were fleeing, or to similarly dangerous situations in Mexico rather than welcoming them into the United States and safety. We hope that the Biden Administration will not stop here, but ensure the safe and fair processing of all those who seek asylum and refuge at our borders. We must uphold not only our legal obligations, but also our moral responsibility to assist those in need.”  

“Scripture’s stories consistently reinforce a narrative of a God who made and values all creation, who responds to the cries of the suffering, who calls all communities to lead with love and ensure justice for the most vulnerable, and who repeatedly calls followers to ‘welcome the stranger,’” said Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries. “As communities of faith, we embrace the long awaited decision of the Biden administration to End Title 42—and we stand as ready faith partners to help offer protections both at the border and in the interior communities where asylum seekers will arrive. However, in line with values for justice, it remains imperative to ensure that the entrance practices for migrants must offer due process and truly demonstrate to them and to the world that the U.S. is committed to return to a place of leadership in offering humanitarian assistance to all who have been traumatized in their homelands and forced to flee. Likewise, from now and until the full ending of Title 42, we continue to urge a halt to all expulsions of Haitians and others seeking refuge back to atrocious and life threatening dangers.”  

“It is quite significant that the Biden Administration has announced a date for ending Title 42. For two years, day after day, people seeking asylum have been turned away without the chance to ask for protection. The human repercussions of Title 42 will be felt for years to come,” said Giovana Oaxaca, Program Director for Migration Policy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “The ELCA has a longstanding commitment to affirming the internationally recognized right to seek asylum. The ELCA Social Message on Immigration conveys concern for policies that hamper access to asylum, while the ELCA AMMPARO strategy is committed to upholding the rights of migrant children and families and addressing the fundamental causes driving their displacement. Rather than promote a safe, orderly, or humane process, Title 42 wound up encouraging repeat crossings, drove families to separation, and increased vulnerability. Jesus taught us that when we welcome, we also welcome God. Rooted in these faith principles, we encourage a border policy that respects human dignity. As people of faith, we welcome the opportunity to grant amparo (refuge) to all without discrimination.”

“Today’s decision was the result of steadfast advocacy by Black and brown immigrant leaders calling for a just and humane asylum system that upholds U.S. and international law and basic morality for everyone,” said Lisa Parisio, CLINIC’s Director of Advocacy. “We will not forget the lives lost and those harmed by this illegal and racist policy. Now we call on the Biden administration to work quickly to ensure proper implementation of this decision and to go further and build an asylum system that welcomes with dignity all who are fleeing for their lives. CLINIC will continue to stand by asylum seekers and our partners to hold the Biden administration accountable to its promises and reject the politicization of human life.” 

“We are encouraged by the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement to end expulsions at the U.S. border under a provision of the Center for Disease Control known as Title 42,” said Susan Krehbiel, Associate for Refugees & Asylum with the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. “At the same time, we are concerned by the delay to implement this change. PCUSA has joined with the interfaith community to advocate for the end of Title 42 in solidarity with the thousands of asylum seekers who have been summarily turned back from our border without the opportunity to explain their need for safety. As people of faith, the PCUSA has long called on the U.S. Government and our congregations to welcome those who come to our borders. We have lifted up our sacred texts and international law in statements throughout the years that we might see the human dignity in each individual as a child of God. That means that regardless of how people arrive at our borders, and regardless of whether or not they qualify for permanent immigration status, we treat them with care and respect. We uphold the right for every person to make a meaningful asylum claim, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or national origin. We insist that border patrol and all immigration officials lead with compassion and justice, not fear and hatred. We are hopeful that this is the first of many steps to restore U.S. asylum.”

Katie Adams, Policy Advocate with the United Church of Christ Justice and Local Church Ministries said, “While we welcome the announcement that the administration is ending the use of Title 42 to expel asylum seekers, it comes at much too high a cost. This policy, which should be a remnant left in the past–not one being employed now–resulted in lives lost and violence toward those seeking shelter and safety. We firmly believe it is the right of every person to seek asylum. The United Church of Christ will continue working toward that day when welcome is offered freely and not withheld from those who are suffering.”

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