“The anti-immigrant right-wing agenda continues to fly forward unchecked and immigrants seeking safety and asserting their legal right to asylum will continue to pay the price.”

Texas – Today, in response to the news that Judge Summerhays of Louisiana’s Western District Court has issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Biden administration to continue to implement Title 42 past Pres. Biden’s May 23rd deadline to end the program, RAICES issued the following statement:

Tami Goodlette, Director of Litigation at RAICES, said:

“This single judge’s decision to block President Biden from ending Stephen Miller’s racist Title 42 policy is both infuriating and unlawful. President Biden could have ended Title 42 and all of Trump’s inhumane and immoral policies as soon as he took office in January 2021 with the flick of a pen, but instead, he surrounded himself with centrist advisors who coddled his fears on immigration reform and embraced deterrence as their central priority on immigration. Now, the anti-immigrant right-wing agenda continues to fly forward unchecked and immigrants seeking safety and asserting their legal right to asylum will continue to pay the price.

Title 42 was never about public health, but rather is shrouded in racism, as doctors and public health experts have made clear that immigration is not a source of pandemic spread. Now, President Biden must keep his promise to undo Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and take the only right, and moral path forward: fight this decision and use every administrative tool at his disposal to fight back against the right-wing extremists who lead the states that brought the suit, including Louisiana and Arizona.”

Allen Morris, Policy & Government Affairs Strategist at RAICES, said:

“In light of this judge’s decision, let us not forget that Republican lawmakers are shamefully holding vital Covid relief funding hostage in an attempt to codify Title 42 and perpetuate their cruel and craven anti-immigrant agenda. Republicans have an invested interest in spewing lies and fallacies that the Texas-Mexico border is not safe in order to keep immigrants out and win over right-wing voters. And Democrats are enabling these xenophobic talking points by refusing to disavow these racist lies and fight disinformation. Democrats seem all but prepared to succumb to racist right-wing propaganda and use immigrants as political pawns in the name of ‘bipartisanship.’

“In the midst of discriminatory lawsuits and negotiations on Capitol Hill, migrant lives are on the line. Everyday that the cruel and racist Title 42 policy remains in place, asylum seekers, especially those who identify as Black and LGBTQIA(+), will be at continued risk of violence. Congress must act immediately to protect those seeking safety at our border by rejecting calls to keep the cruel and immoral deployment of Title 42 in place, and voting against any legislation that will infringe on asylum seekers’ rights.

“We at RAICES, along with communities across the border, remain ready to coordinate with the government to welcome all people seeking safety at our borders. People fleeing danger in their home countries have the legal right to seek safety and protection in the United States – plain and simple.”

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The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees. Learn more at Raicestexas.org.

“The anti-immigrant right-wing agenda continues to fly forward unchecked and immigrants seeking safety and asserting their legal right to asylum will continue to pay the price.”

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