Washington, DC – Yesterday, the Supreme Court made a decision to delay the end of Title 42 by granting a request to pause a lower court order that would have ended the asylum-blocking policy by December 21st. Title 42, first invoked by the Trump administration and continued by the Biden administration, has been misused for nearly three years to block migrants from seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border under the guise of protecting public health.
Faith groups and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly called for an end to the inhumane Title 42 policy that has denied migrants their internationally-recognized right to seek safety and protection. They have faithfully served asylum-seeking migrants at the border and beyond, and expressed their eagerness to work with the federal government to create a humane and welcoming asylum system.
The member organizations of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) lament the Supreme Court’s decision that will continue to endanger the lives of already vulnerable people; they urge the Biden administration to move forward with the termination of Title 42 and ensure that it is not replaced with other cruel, anti-asylum deterrence policies. Congress and the Biden administration must work together with faith groups, border communities, and nonprofit organizations to ensure they have the resources and support they need to welcome asylum-seeking migrants with dignity, and to create an asylum system that honors migrants’ legal and human right to seek asylum in the United States.
IIC member organizations issued the following statements:
“Yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Court to temporarily allow Title 42 to remain in place is extremely disappointing,” said Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Director, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. “Originally set for termination on December 21, the continuation of this harmful policy will only create greater chaos and confusion at the border, place migrants and asylum seekers in harm’s way, and significantly limit the ability of asylum seekers to petition for safety in the United States. We call on the Biden Administration to appeal this decision and continue to take steps to put in place a fair, equitable, and safe immigration system that allows asylum seekers to exercise their legal right for protection.”
“The SCOTUS decision to delay on Title 42 is plain wrong,” said Dylan Corbett, Executive Director of Hope Border Institute. “This decision will put lives in danger and will incentivize smuggling, trafficking, and violence against migrants. It will extend the bottleneck at the border, putting added pressure on border enforcement and lead to more deaths. In the meantime, border communities and faith-based organizations will continue picking up the pieces of a broken immigration system, showing that another way is possible—one of generous welcome, hospitality, humanity, and compassion.”
“The Supreme Court decision to temporarily keep Title 42 in place is a moral failure that denies people their human right to asylum. Title 42 is a cruel response that worsens the suffering of asylum seekers at the border,” said Rabbi Joshua Lesser, President of Bridges Faith Initiative. “Our faith reminds us that how we ‘welcome the stranger’ is a measure of who we are. The Biden administration must take the moral action of ending Title 42 once and for all.”
“We are outraged that the U.S. Supreme Court has made a decision to further delay the end of Title 42, the policy used to deny people the right to seek asylum in the United States,” said Pedro Rios, Director of the US-Mexico Border Program for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). “Title 42 is an archaic public health order that disregards U.S. and international law. We are dismayed that individuals and families will continue to suffer under this unjust and unnecessary policy. The United States must uphold the right to claim asylum. Migrants should be welcomed with dignity and support, afforded all due process rights, and not subjected to further harm.”
“Faith communities stand resolute in our denouncement of the harmful and immoral Title 42 policy that has expelled and turned away families and individuals seeking a safe place to call home,” said Rev. Noel Andersen, Director of Grassroots Organizing at Church World Service. “Title 42 was never about public health. Keeping this cruel program in place serves only as a tool to wrongfully prevent the most vulnerable from protection. We stand against any and all anti-asylum policies that force people to return back to the very harm they fled. CWS calls on our national leaders to fully restore all asylum protections and do everything in their power to protect the most vulnerable.”
“We are extremely saddened by the SCOTUS decision to delay the end of Title 42. We must not continue to turn away those seeking safety and a life of dignity in the United States using this outdated policy,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, Executive Director, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “Christians just celebrated the birth of Christ, when the Holy Family – migrants – could not find a place to stay when they were at their most vulnerable. We can make different choices today, so the United States is a place of welcome to those in distress. We call on U.S. leaders to work together to restore the asylum system, and at the border to ensure the capacity for dignified welcome.”
“We are disheartened by this latest setback for our migrant sisters and brothers who are seeking life with dignity for themselves and their families,” said Karen M. Donahue, RSM, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team. “This decision endangers lives. Immigrants should not be held hostage to legal battles, especially over measures like Title 42, which, as the Court’s dissenting position recognizes, no longer apply.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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