Press Release
Published on February 9, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, 62 organizations urged the Supreme Court to deny a belated attempt by several states to intervene in a case challenging the use of the Title 42 public health authority to expel asylum seekers and other migrants. The pandemic-era expulsion order was first implemented by former President Trump in March 2020. In Arizona v. Mayorkas, the high court decides whether these states can attempt to further delay the program’s wind-down by inserting themselves into the case on appeal. The amicus brief, co-authored by Human Rights First and Justice Action Center with pro bono support from Sidley Austin LLP, demonstrates the policy’s deadly human cost, highlighting the stories of asylum seekers harmed by Title 42.
“Human Rights First has tracked 13,480 reports of murder, kidnapping, rape, torture, and other violent attacks against people blocked in or expelled to Mexico due to Title 42 since January 2021,” said Anwen Hughes, Director of Legal Strategy for Refugee Programs at Human Rights First. “These expulsions and the way they are carried out make asylum seekers targets for violence in Mexico. This policy has been a public health, border management, and human rights fiasco, and the Court should reject the States’ attempt to force its continuation.”
“It is unconscionable that these states prefer that we continue to deny asylum seekers their legal and human right to seek safety,” said Jane Bentrott, counsel at Justice Action Center. “As the states make clear in their motion, Title 42 was never about protecting public health and has always been about inflicting harm and suffering on children, families, and adults—particularly Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. It is past time for these unlawful, immoral, and inhumane expulsions to end.”
Read the amicus brief here.
