FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW ORLEANS—Today, 58 organizations and public interest law firms filed an amicus brief in Arizona v. CDC, the case currently before the Louisiana district court that is attempting to block the wind-down of the cruel and inhumane Title 42 policy. The brief, co-authored by Justice Action Center and Tulane Immigrant Rights Clinic, highlights the stories of asylum seekers expelled back to danger under Title 42 to illustrate its immense human toll that has persisted since being implemented under the Trump Administration in March 2020. The amicus brief argues that given its horrific human cost, the Title 42 wind-down is in the public interest.
Since the program’s implementation, the United States has expelled asylum seekers back to danger more than 1.7 million times under Title 42. As a result, these asylum seekers face additional trauma, including kidnappings, torture, rape, and even death. Designed by Stephen Miller, the CDC deployed Title 42 under former President Trump, under the guise of protecting public health from COVID-19. However, experts have repeatedly debunked Title 42’s efficacy in controlling the pandemic.
“Arizona v. CDC is yet another instance in which certain states are attempting to co-opt the legal system to continue Trump’s cruel and inhumane anti-immigrant policies that violate U.S. law and international treaty obligations on asylum, said Esther Sung, Legal Director at Justice Action Center. Rather than expelling people back to danger, we must restore our asylum system, reopen ports of entry, and resource border organizations providing direct support to those seeking refuge.”
“Title 42 has caused immense human suffering to people fleeing violence around the world, with a disproportionate impact on Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ asylum seekers, said Mary Yanik, Director of the Immigrant Rights Law Clinic at Tulane Law School. The horrific human cost of Title 42 makes clear that it should have never been implemented in the first place; its end is past due.”