Editorial: With Title 42 ending, Biden relies on the same failed immigration policies
The border management strategy known as Title 42 has allowed the United States to expel asylum-seeking migrants en masse for the past three years using a public health pretext. It’s not surprising, then, that many state and federal lawmakers have been trying to hold onto the Trump-era order for dear life. After all, Title 42 comes straight from the playbook that Republican and Democratic policymakers have relied on for decades. Operation Hold the Line in 1993, Operation Gatekeeper in 1994 (both of which fortified the border in certain areas) and Title 42 were designed to make it harder, if not impossible, for migrants to enter the U.S.
None of these policies have stopped desperate people fleeing countries ravaged by violence or authoritarian regimes from trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrants brave jungles teeming with bandits, travel atop dangerous trains and walk through scorching deserts for the opportunity to live and work without fear. And they’ll continue to do so even after Title 42 ends Thursday, when the COVID-19 pandemic emergency is lifted.
That’s because the mishmash of policies that the Biden administration will use to replace Title 42 relies on the same concept of trying to scare migrants from arriving at the border, rather than addressing the root cause of migration.
The U.S.-Mexico border is a complex region not easily reduced to sound bites that sometimes turn out to be just myths — or convenient lies.
Severely limiting the option to apply for asylum has resulted in tens of thousands of migrants stranded on the Mexican side of the border in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, often in squalid or unsafe conditions and subject to crime and violence. Many observers expect that when Title 42 lifts, migrants will rush to the border with the mistaken idea that restrictions have been dropped, overwhelming Border Patrol officials. The Biden administration is sending 1,500 active-duty National Guard soldiers to help monitor the border. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he is deploying a “tactical border force” to secure the crossing.
In recent months, Biden has enacted policies offering other ways for people to apply for asylum. Migrants at the border will continue to be allowed to apply for asylum via an app that has had operational problems, requiring people to spend weeks trying to make an appointment. The U.S. is setting up asylum processing centers in other countries, starting with Colombia and Guatemala. Migrants can also apply from their native countries for U.S. residents to sponsor them. Those who arrive without using any of these options run the risk of being deported to their home countries. Migrants from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the U.S., such as Venezuela and Cuba, will be sent to Mexico.
These policies are inadequate, however, because they do not offer a solution that might address the reasons that compel people to seek asylum. Nor do they acknowledge that the U.S. economy has for decades relied on cheap labor by undocumented immigrants.
Mexico and the U.S. are failing miserably in addressing the historic number of migrants escaping repressive regimes. This tragedy underscores need for better immigration policies.
Title 42 proved to be a curse for the Biden administration, which first sought to end it last year but was forced to keep it in place after a legal challenge from Republicans.
Migrant advocates had hoped Biden would be the leader who would finally push for more humane and sensible immigration policies. The immigration system has been broken for years due to a dysfunctional and deeply divided Congress that can’t agree on appropriate legislation to deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., immigration and asylum case backlogs or even legislation to protect those who were brought to the country illegally when they were young.
Much of the blame falls on Republican legislators for their anti-immigrant rhetoric as they play to a base that does not want to acknowledge the role that migrants play in our economy. But Democrats share some blame for failing to adopt reform measures when they had control of Congress.
Instead, politicians rely on ineffective measures to scare migrants into staying away or use them as political pawns. Until Congress and the president can find a way to reach consensus on immigration reform, the crisis at our borders will only continue to get worse.
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