“A humanitarian need must be met with a humanitarian response.”

-Marco Castillo, speaking about immigration policy at the U.S. – Mexico border. 

Title 42, the COVID emergency policy implemented by the Trump Administration has officially come to an end as of today, May 11th. 

We are glad Title 42 has finally been rescinded. We have been calling for this action since it was put in place by Trump three years ago.  However, we have deep concerns about the suite of new policies the Biden Administration is replacing it with. 

We oppose President Biden’s decision to send 1,500 troops to the border. This action is both setting a dangerous precedent for the further militarization of our border, is sowing fear, and perpetuating the dangerous views of migrants as a threat. 

Yesterday, Global Exchange, Director, Marco Castillo hosted a panel of experts to talk about what the end of Title 42 means, and to walk through the immigration ‘reforms’ put forward by the Biden Administration. Here’s who joined us to talk about this critical issue: 

  • Bill Hing – Professor of Law and Migration Studies at Univ of San Francisco
  • Gretchen Kuhner – Institute for Women in Migration 
  • Camilo Pérez-Bustillo  – National Lawyers Guild and Witness at the Border.

The panel addressed the new migrant processing centers, the CBP One App, the new asylum policies, and the ongoing humanitarian needs of migrants. There’s a lot to process with all these changes, and as Gretchen Kuhner wisely summarized:

“The devil is in the details.” 

We strongly recommend giving this webinar a listen. The details matter, for communities in the United States, in Mexico, and in Central and South America. 

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments after you’ve watched the video, we encourage you to email us. We’d love to talk more, including ways you can get involved. 

This quote from Camilo Perez-Bustillo sums up the new policies quite well:

“In fact what the lifting of Title 42 means, and what Title 42 is going to be replaced by is some of the most drastic, abusive measures that any US Government has ever taken at the US-Mexico border, but dressed up in humanitarian garb.”