Like many at UUCUC, the Immigration Justice Task Force (IJTF) has been watching the challenges at the U.S. / Mexico Border. We know that spring surges like the one currently happening are not new. Last year, the Trump administration used the spring surge and the pandemic as an excuse to apply Title 42, an outdated health code, to effectively close the border.
What’s Really Happening
While unpacking the various reports, we realized that asylum seekers were being expelled from our country after they crossed the border. This is because the Biden administration is continuing to use the Trump-era policy of applying Title 42 to nearly all migrants seeking asylum. The exception to this is unaccompanied minors. That is why news broadcasts are focusing on children.
We learned that Title 42 is causing family separation. Not the kind we experienced in 2019, when children were ripped from their parent’s arms, but still, family separation. Often, minors travel to the border with an aunt, uncle, or grandparent in hopes of being reunited with a parent who might already be in the U.S. Once they cross, these kids are not allowed to remain with those relatives, and are separated from them.
Parents coming to the border with their children now recognize that they will be expelled. That’s why so many are sending their children across alone, rather than taking them home to their country of origin. These families are fleeing violence; extreme poverty (made worse by COVID); corruption; natural disasters (two recent hurricanes); and climate change, which has affected their ability to farm and sustain themselves. Family separation further exacerbates the trauma they already have endured.
Time to Act!
We realized we needed to act. The Task Force spent several weeks researching and writing a heavily-footnoted letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. In it, we asked the Biden Administration to immediately stop its use of Title 42 and put in place a just, humane, and compassionate response to migrants exercising their legal right to seek asylum. Then we reached out to over 30 organizations / houses of worship to sign on.
Our outreach happened to occur during Easter week and Passover, which didn’t give much time to connect with Boards or church councils. Despite that, 23 groups signed the letter! In just one week, representatives of the faith community and immigration justice advocates were able to obtain required approvals from boards and councils.
We hope you will read it. We believe this letter sends a strong message to decision-makers from our community, where over 23,000 of us are immigrants, and about 10,000 unauthorized. Members of the Task Force are still working to ensure the letter makes its way to the appropriate officials, so that our concerns and multiple asks reach Secretary Mayorkas and Vice-President Harris, who was recently put in charge of addressing the current challenges.
Much More to Be Done
We know there are hopes and expectations that President Biden will be successful in moving a just immigration policy forward. But in the interim, there is much to be done, including addressing the multiple crises in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
As you read the letter and consider our response, please remember – none of these migrants are illegal. They have the right to request asylum without being criminalized, turned back, or separated from their children—even during a pandemic. And, they wouldn’t be at our border if they believed they could safely remain in their country.