Title 42 is a provision of law that allows borders to be closed in emergency situations to protect the public health. For two years, it has been used to prevent most asylum seekers from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to find safety.
Public health experts have repeatedly stated that Title 42 does nothing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and have called for its reversal. Yet, border officials have used this policy to turn away asylum seekers more than 1.6 million times, denying their basic human right to seek safety.
Asylum seekers deserve dignity and a chance to ask for protection. Congress must call on the Biden administration to end the misuse of public health laws and restore the right to asylum by ending Title 42.