What is the Title 42?

The Title 42 is focused on public health and the well-being of the American population. This extensive statute of the US code refers to measures that the country might adopt (such as quarantine) in the event of a health emergency or protocols to follow to protect the health of citizens and the local healthcare system. In other words, Title 42 is a public health law, which was implemented 77 years ago, in 1944.

In 2020, with the sudden arrival of the global Coronavirus pandemic to the North American territory and its massive impact mainly in the US, then-President Donald Trump used Title 42 to close the US borders and allow expedited deportations in in the midst of the health crisis, stating that the massive flow of immigrants could trigger another COVID-19 outbreak within the country.

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Title 42 as a means of expelling immigrants

Title 42 is usually used to protect health authorities in case they need to implement unconventional measures such as social distancing and quarantine amid a sanitary emergency.

However, the Trump administration used this code to, on the one hand, close the US borders almost completely to all non-essential travel, that is, traffic that does not involve trade exchange of some kind. On the other hand, this Title also allowed the Trump administration to empower certain border entities to expel undocumented immigrants in a matter of hours, without following almost no regular protocol.

This move by Trump created uncertainty among the American population, especially among activists and immigrant rights advocates, mainly because his administration always wanted to reduce immigration levels and narrow the alternatives available to vulnerable populations such as asylum seekers and, thus, it was seen as if his administration was using the health crisis as an “excuse or means” to expel immigrants without any limitation.

This border restriction allowed expedited deportations of immigrants aprehended in border territory undocumented, which mainly affected vulnerable populations in urgent need of international protection, including entire families.

Is the Biden administration planning to revoke Title 42?

When President Biden took office, his administration promised to lift Trump’s restrictions on the immigration system and, since January 2021, has focused heavily on this goal. However, Title 42 is still active because the health risk is still present.

Adding to that, this code has allowed the Biden administration, in the opinion of experts, to protect the borders amid a surge of illegal crossings that has put its immigration plans at risk.

Nevertheless, there are rumors that Biden intends to remove this rule. If this happens, border entities would have to process undocumented immigrants following all regular protocols. The Biden administration has yet to comment on these rumors and it is not certain that it will happen anytime soon.

According to a recent Axios report, if the Biden administration removes Title 42, one of the communities that will most benefit would be immigrant families who are detained at the borders without legal documentation.

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