“It is past time for this policy to be rescinded and for the U.S. to once again welcome asylum-seekers with open arms. Enough is enough.”

 

Washington, D.C. (March 20, 2022) – On the two year anniversary of the implementation of Title 42, Save the Children’s Vice President of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Christy Gleason, issued the following statement:

“For two years, the U.S. government has shamefully employed Title 42 to expel asylum-seeking children and families, knowingly putting them at risk of well-document dangers including extortion, rape, kidnapping and other violent crimes. This harmful and inhumane policy must be revoked, in full, immediately.

“As public health experts have explained time again, Title 42 is not based on scientifically grounded public health evidence and does not prevent the spread of COVID-19. It simply prevents children and families from seeking asylum protections, in violation of our long-standing American principle of being a safe-haven for the persecuted and our responsibilities under refugee protection laws.

“Now that the U.S. is substantially loosening COVID-19 restrictions for those within its borders, it is time to do the same for those seeking asylum. It is past time for this policy to be rescinded and for the U.S. to once again welcome asylum-seekers with open arms. Enough is enough.”

Save the Children – together with its political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network – has advocated against Title 42 since March 2020, and will continue to advocate until it is rescinded, in full. To date, Save the Children Action Network’s over 375,000 grassroots advocates have sent more than 90,000 messages to Congress and the Trump and Biden White Houses, urging them to revoke this harmful policy.