Emilie Mendoza - Class of 2024 Title 42 and Cowardly Policymaking

Caitlyn Yates, anthropologist and PHD candidate at the University of British Columbia wrote in a 2018 Time Magazine piece, “For migrants who recount their journeys from the U.S., the Darien Gap is often remembered as the most difficult section of the entire journey.” The current plight of migrants through the Americas is often characterized as a physically dangerous one – as a pilgrimage to a land of easy-access to opportunities through a collection of different geographical boundaries (ranging from the Darien Gap to the Rio Grande). The immigrant is the one that gets past these treacherous obstacles and gets past the gang violence of the Americas and is therefore able to reach a better life in the United States. But while that may be the case for thousands of immigrants arriving in the US every year, it is not the case for all In fact, it ignores one of the biggest obstacles that immigrants trying to enter the United States face today; the anti-migrant legislation embedded into the American legal system and culture. Immigrants face life-threatening dangers and inhumane conditions when migrating to the United States because of anti-migrant legislation like Title 42.

Title 42 is one of the best examples of anti-immigrant legislation in America because of how benign it appears on the surface Title 42 was a provision of the Public Health Service Act of 1944 (García, 2022) with the intention of preventing the entry of communicable diseases to the country through human migration. However, it’s most notable use was in early 2020 when the Trump administration invoked it to limit the spread of COVID-19 in immigrant detention centers (García, 2022). Title 42 was later expanded by the Biden administration at the US-Mexico border until its expiration on May 11th, 2023 Under this policy, authorities had the ability to expel migrants back to their countries of origin, or the countries they were last in, without due process. Often, this resulted in the expulsion migrants who had illegally crossed the border without allowing them to request asylum. As written by Alejandra Oliva in an opinion piece for the New York Times, “…these days the door to stability, much less economic growth, has been shut against asylum seekers even before they’re allowed to enter the country.” (Oliva, 2022).

Title 42 came particularly to the public eye in October 2022, following an increase in reporting of Venezuelans migrating through the Americas towards the US. That month alone, the number of Venezuelans crossing the Darien Gap reached its peak of 40,593 migrants recorded (Migración Panamá, 2022) These migrants were met with the news of Title 42’s expansion to include the expulsion of Venezuelan immigrants, leaving them in migratory limbo. As a Venezuelan migrant described to CNN, “After so much pain, so many obstacles we had to overcome, now we’re stuck.” (Pozzebon, 2022). The effects of this expansion were also felt miles away in countries like Panama, where about 900 Venezuelans were forced to return to the home country, they had fled on charter flights after losing hope on the rest of their journey to seek asylum in the United States (Associated Press, 2022)

Anti-migrant legislation like Title 42 demonstrates how deeply ingrained xenophobic sentiment is the American legal system. Consistently, US politicians have treated migrants as political pawns, tools to further agendas. Incidents like the flying of asylum seekers in San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Caputo, 2022), and the continued harsh conditions in detention centers holding migrant children (Jordan, 2021) demonstrate how – across the board – the United States government holds immigrants in contempt and is structurally designed to further marginalize groups of people that were already force to flee precarious economic situations, gang violence, and/or political persecution.

It is worth reiterating that Title 42 was not an immigration policy, it was a provision of a public health act Yet, despite this, Title 42 and other policies that limit accessibility for asylum seekers continue to be pervasive. Even though Title 42 has now expired, the newest immigration policy implemented since the beginning of 2023 has kept requesting asylum largely inaccessible. Migrants at the southern border are now required to book an asylum interview before being able to physically enter the United States through a cellphone app. This app has been reported to have many glitches, separate families, be unable to recognize certain darker skin tones, etc This is aside from the biggest issue stemming from the lack of Wi-Fi access for the migrants forced to remain in overcrowded, lowresource migrant camps in Mexico (Beaumont, 2023).

As the Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Times wrote in a piece titled President Biden is using Title 42 against Venezuelans. That’s Cowardly Policymaking, “Politicians on both sides of the aisle are treating migrants as objects to be ferried around — and dropped at the doorstep of political rivals — or demonized as health risks instead of treating them as human beings.” This rings true, as anti-migrant legislation transcends party lines and administrations. It is fundamental to the structures that hold up the American immigration system and creates situations and conditions that ultimately endanger and further marginalize immigrants. America, as a country founded by immigrants with the promise of equal opportunity for self-actualization, is presently a country that structurally pushes away migrants seeking out the ‘American Dream’ The danger of these policies comes from the intent behind them; intent fueled by a deep-rooted forgetting of migrants’ humanity. Only with comprehensive reform and a striking change in the culture surrounding the treatment of migrants by the law can America break free from policies made by cowards.

Sources

Beaumont, Hilary. “‘It Doesn’t Work’: Migrants Struggle with US Immigration App.” USMexico Border News | Al Jazeera, 16 May 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/15/it-doesnt-work-migrants-struggle-with-usimmigration-app.

“Editorial: President Biden Is Using Title 42 against Venezuelans. That’s Cowardly Policymaking.” Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2022, www.latimes.com/opinion/story/202210-28/la-ed-venezuelans-expelled-under-trump-era-rule.

García, Uriel J. “Here’s What You Need to Know about Title 42, the Pandemic-Era Policy That Quickly Sends Migrants to Mexico.” The Texas Tribune, 29 Apr. 2022, www.texastribune.org/2022/04/29/immigration-title-42-biden/.

“IRREGULARES POR DARIÉN 2022.” Migración Panama, 31 Mar. 2022.

Jordan, Miriam. “‘No Place for a Child’: Inside the Tent Camp Housing Thousands of Migrant Children.” The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/texas-border-facility-migrants.html.

Long, Colleen. “Title 42 Has Ended. Here’s What It Did, and How US Immigration Policy Is Changing.” AP NEWS, 12 May 2023, apnews.com/article/immigration-biden-bordertitle-42-mexico-asylum-be4e0b15b27adb9bede87b9bbefb798d.

“Migrants Who Landed on Martha’s Vineyard Were Tricked by Misleading Brochure, Lawyers Say .” NBCNews.Com, 19 Sept. 2022, www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/migrants-landed-marthas-vineyard-trickedmisleading-brochure-lawyers-s-rcna48390.

Oliva, Alejandra. “The U.S. Has a Legal Responsibility to Those Seeking Refuge.” The New York Times, 5 May 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/opinion/title-42immigration-usa.html.

Pozzebon, Stefano. “Venezuelan Migrants in Shock and Limbo after New US Immigration Plan.” CNN, 15 Oct. 2022, edition.cnn.com/2022/10/15/americas/venezuelanmigrants-title-42-expansion-intl/index.html.

Press, Associated. “Venezuelans Stranded in Panama by U.S. Policy Change Return Home.” NBCNews.Com, 27 Oct. 2022, www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/venezuelansstranded-panama-us-policy-change-return-home-rcna54280.

Yates, Caitlyn. “How Panama Became so Dangerous for u.s.-Bound Migrants.” Time, 25 July 2018, time.com/5340697/migration-america-panama/. 26