Democrats aren’t happy with Biden.
After President Joe Biden decided to uphold Title 42, four Senate Democrats have released a statement condemning the decision.
Title 42 began being used by the Trump administration to restrict immigration because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats believed Biden would end the use of this clause as the effects of the pandemic subsided. When he decided to uphold the use of the clause, four Senators expressed disappointment.
Democratic Senators Alex Padilla (CA.), Bob Menendez (N.J.) Cory Booker (N.J.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) released a statement, saying, “We are deeply disappointed in the Biden Administration’s decision to maintain Title 42.”
In the joint statement, the Senators applauded the decision “to prevent unaccompanied children from being expelled” as the “right choice” but emphasized that “it is wrong” for the Biden administration to continue to send “families with minor children back to persecution and torture.”
The senators also proclaimed that “with vaccines and testing widely available,” the asylum seekers posed no threat to public health.
They also called the decision “perplexing,” pointing to the CDC relaxing domestic COVID-19 protocols, while wondering why “the agency continues to recommend the extended use of this draconian policy at the border,” which they say contradicts with the U.S.’s “pandemic recovery under President Biden’s leadership.”
In concluding remarks, the Senators urged Biden to “stop breathing new life into this inhumane Trump policy.” Instead, saying it is “time for the Biden Administration to reinstate humanitarian protections at our borders” and to “build a functional asylum system that is equipped to manage our global migration challenge.”
On Saturday (March 12), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus also released a statement condemning the Biden administration’s decision to continue using Title 42.
They shared similar views as the four Senators, appreciating the administration’s decision not to expel unaccompanied minors, but condemning the decision to uphold the expulsion of families seeking asylum.
