Democrats Criticized for Attempts to Codify Title 42 With ‘Stephen Miller Bill’

On Tuesday, immigration justice campaigners demanded that federal lawmakers reject a legislative measure dubbed the “Stephen Miller bill” that would formalize a regulation that has resulted in the expulsion of more than 1.7 million asylum seekers since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The proposal, officially known as the Public Health and Border Security Act, has been dubbed the “Stephen Miller bill” after a key proponent of former President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda. It makes use of Title 42 of the Public Health Safety Act to deny asylum seekers entry, ostensibly to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Rights campaigners welcomed President Joe Biden’s announcement earlier this month when his government reacted to rising pressure by declaring that the clause will be rendered null and void from May 23. The clause was supposed to be annulled after immigration officers implement public health safeguards at border crossings.

However, right-wing members of Biden’s own party, including Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, as well as Rep. Henry Cuellar, are co-sponsoring what RAICES called the “cruel and senseless” package introduced on Tuesday. The package would prevent the government from terminating Title 42 provisions until 60 days after the national Covid-19 emergency declaration ends. 

Under Title 42 of the Public Health Safety Act, the government can restrict “the entrance of individuals” from foreign nations if a communicable illness could spread in the United States. The article has been employed to deport nearly 16,000 unaccompanied minors since March 2020. Those who have been deported as a result of the order have been expelled to their home countries, where many suffer oppression, or to Mexico.

Allen Morris, policy and government affairs strategist at RAICES, asserts that “Title 42 is a cruel and racist Trump-era legislation devised by white nationalist Stephen Miller to deter Black and Brown immigrants from requesting asylum in the United States”. According to Morris, the Stephen Miller bill is a harsh and craven tribute to the racist right-wing, politicizing asylum access, all in the name of public health and bipartisanship.

Other conservative Democratic senators who have not signed on as co-sponsors of the so-called Public Health and Border Security Act are allegedly pressuring the White House to overturn Biden’s decision to revoke Title 42. One of these Democrats is Sen. Chris Coons, who is a close associate of the president. Coons on CBS Sunday’s “Face the Nation” said that the decision should be “reconsidered correctly” since “infections are on the rise.”

The White House has not been successful in explaining to the public why Title 42 is “counterproductive, unnecessary, and actively harmful,” according to Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council (AIC). This has allowed right-wing writers and politicians to organize a propaganda campaign about the so-called dangers that the end of the order will bring.

Contrary to right-wing disinformation, public health experts argue that Title 42 expulsions themselves might represent a public health danger. The possibility of Covid-19 transmission across national borders increases significantly because numerous people are confined together for many days or weeks for expulsions.

RAICES also emphasized the racist dynamics that underlie the whole situation. It noted that claims that the US cannot cope with an increase in migration numbers have been discredited in recent weeks as thousands of Ukrainians “presented themselves at the U.S.-Mexico border and were met with open arms ahead of their Black and Brown counterparts.”

“This hypocrisy and the stark difference in treatment is evidence of Title 42’s purpose as a tool of racial discrimination—not public health,” said Allen Morris. “We at RAICES and communities on both sides of the border stand ready to work with the government to welcome any persons seeking protection at our borders,” he added. 

Originally published at Commondreams.org, written by Julia Conley.