Civil Rights Group Says Holds Biden Admin Accountable for US Border Crisis
Migrants wait along a border wall Aug. 23, 2022, after crossing from Mexico near Yuma, Ariz.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) on Wednesday denounced the US Supreme Court’s decision to leave in place the COVID-era Title 42 immigration policy and said it holds the Biden administration, Congress and Republican governors accountable for the crisis at the US border with Mexico. “LULAC is disappointed in today’s 5-4 court decision because of the suffering we are witnessing among migrants fleeing very difficult situations in their countries of origin,” the statement said. “We hold the Republican governors, Congress and the Biden Administration accountable for the state of affairs along our southern border.” On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s request to end the Title 42 immigration policy after several Republican states urged the court to leave it in place in order to avert a worsening of the current border crisis. The COVID-era Title 42 allowed the authorities to deny entry to migrants seeking asylum in the United States based on their health status. “All Americans should be disturbed by images of refugees crossing riverbeds in freezing weather during Christmas only to confront barbed wire fences. Or to see migrants that political operatives drop off in front of the Vice President’s home during historic cold weather,” LULAC’s statement said. “This situation is not solely a presidential problem. Both parties must work together to stop illegal crossings by passing a bipartisan immigration bill that allows legal migration,” the statement said. LULAC also urged lawmakers to secure the border by closing immigration law loopholes and called for a Marshall Plan-like approach that deals with the underlying issues forcing people to flee Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and other countries. “Also, the US must reopen diplomatic relations with Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. LULAC urges both sides of the aisle in Congress to recognize this situation as a humanitarian crisis,” the statement said. LULAC National Immigration Chair Lydia Guzman said in the statement that Title 42 is a public health measure and was never intended to control immigration. “The CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] lifted many COVID restrictions, including international travel and mask mandates on planes,” Guzman stated. “Title 42 should have been lifted in the same manner. Instead it is being misused as a tool to control migration, and that’s not right,” Guzman said. On Tuesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported that the US government is setting up a new tent facility camp in El Paso, Texas, which is currently a hot spot where tens of thousands of asylum-seeking migrants have trekked over the border illegally in recent weeks. The United States has seen two consecutive record breaking years of illegal crossings into the United States since Biden assumed office in January 2021. Well over two million illegal crossings into the United States were recorded in fiscal year 2022, according to CBP data. The Biden administration last week filed an appeal to the US Supreme Court, requesting that it deny a bid from several Republican states to keep in place Title 42. The policy was due to expire on December 21, but the US Supreme Court decided to hear last-minute arguments by the Biden administration.
