Loading....
Write Here! Write Now!
Online Letter-Writing Platform
(Your Individual Typed Letter)
Tell Congress to Restore Asylum and End the Misuse of Title 42
Separately, you can also Tell the Administration: Reopen the Border to Asylum Seekers!
Review and join the sign-on letter to President Biden, asking him to take the actions needed.
Update 3/8/22:
Two recent preliminary court rulings do not change the fact that the administration still needs to restore asylum and end the Title 42 policy.
Title 42 remains in effect, and access to asylum has still not been restored at the U.S. border. The two court decisions may impact the future of the policy, but neither ends the policy or takes effect immediately, and it remains unclear how the administration will interpret or respond to the rulings. As of this writing, the Biden administration continues to use Title 42 to expel asylum-seekers at the border. The need remains as urgent as ever to call for an immediate end to Title 42 and full restoration of asylum.
Aljazeera: US court rules Biden can continue expulsions at US-Mexico border: Judges ruled that the arrivals ‘have no right to be in the United States’ and can be immediately expelled.
Why Are We Writing? The Biden administration continues use of Title 42 expulsion policy and other policies created under Trump to expel people arriving at our borders without giving them the chance to request humanitarian protection. This violates U.S. refugee law and international treaties. It forces asylum seekers into crowded, dangerous, camps in MX or to return to the unsafe conditions they fled.
Why now? There is a growing humanitarian crisis at the U.S. - Mexico border. Human rights observers have documented 8,700+ attacks—including kidnapping, torture, and sexual violence— against asylum-seekers returned to MX under Title 42 and the Migrant “Protection” Protocols since President Biden took office. The claim that Title 42 expulsions are necessary to protect public health is not valid and cannot justify denying access to asylum, with Covid-19 cases in decline, and U.S. borders open for shopping or tourism, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) may roll back mask guidance.
Background: The misuse of the CDC’s authority under 42 U.S. Code § 265 to expel asylum-seekers, without a chance to plead their case, is in violation of U.S. law and the international Refugee Convention. Public Health experts are against this misuse of Title 42, arguing that it has no scientific basis. Title 42 can no longer be explained as a Trump-era policy, since the current administration has not only renewed its use multiple times but has also carried out a greater number of expulsions than the prior administration—more than 1million expulsions during the first year.
UU Grounding: Our UU faith affirms the worth and dignity of all people, as stated in the first principle, and calls for justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. UUs have long advocated for fair and humane immigration reform of our nation’s laws.
Talking Points
- End Misuse of Title 42: Urge the Biden administration to rescind executive authority for expulsions under Title 42 and cease all such expulsions.
- Restore Asylum: Resume processing asylum-seekers through ports of entry, while complying with public health mitigation measures to ensure the safety of asylum-seekers, officials, and other members of the public—including social distancing, masking, and free and universal access to vaccination.
- End Remain in MX: Terminate the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Increase funding for immigration administrative staff and courts to speed up the handling of cases to resolve the backlog of more than one million cases, meaning asylum seekers may wait several years for adjudication.
- Reduce Immigration Detention: Halt the expansion of civil immigration detention during the pandemic, begin the dismantling of that system, and release people from custody; restoring access to asylum must not be used as a pretext to expand the use of detention.
Sample Type Written Letter to Your Senators
[To strengthen the message, include in your own words a personal experience, a story, or concern relating to refugees and asylum seekers. You can use a talking point from above.]
I’m a Unitarian Universalist from [optional: name of congregation and location]. My faith teaches respect for the worth and dignity of all people, and support for justice, equity, and compassion in our relations. I call on you to press the administration to restore fair access to asylum, as swiftly as possible, and end the misuse of Title 42. They should stop blocking and expelling asylum-seekers at our borders.
The current policy violates U.S. immigration law and international treaties. It exposes those expelled to various crimes in crowded Mexican camps or unsafe conditions in the countries they fled. This use of Title 42 was implemented over objections by senior CDC experts and criticized by public health experts for lack of scientific basis as a public health measure. U.S. borders are now fully open for business, the claim that Title 42 expulsions are necessary is no longer valid, asylum must be quickly restored.
Tell Congress to Restore Asylum and End the Misuse of Title 42
The misuse of the CDC’s authority under 42 U.S. Code § 265 to expel asylum-seekers, without a chance to plead their case, is in violation of U.S. law and the international Refugee Convention. Public Health experts are against this misuse of Title 42, arguing that it has no scientific basis. Title 42 can no longer be explained as a Trump-era policy, since the current administration has not only renewed its use multiple times but has also carried out a greater number of expulsions than the prior administration—more than 1million expulsions during the first year.
Our UU faith affirms the worth and dignity of all people, as stated in the first principle, and calls for justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. UUs have long advocated for fair and humane immigration reform of our nation’s laws.
It seems we're not targeting any representatives in your state on this issue.
You can still help!
Sympathies to the U.S. territories without representation in the Senate.
Become a Member!
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) has been the leader for a national UU advocacy movement in Washington, DC., and will continue its efforts, including our advocacy for our conviction that Black Lives Matter.
Join Today
Become a Member!
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) has been the leader for a national UU advocacy movement in Washington, DC., and will continue its efforts, including our advocacy and conviction that Black Lives Matter.