Last month, we wrote about the legacy of racism and continued failings of the US immigration system. Biden promised reform; while he has made some progress on protections for undocumented workers already in the country, his border policy remains largely unchanged from that of the Trump administration. Two of the harshest examples include Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and the expulsion of Haitian migrants under Title 42.
MPP (or “Remain in Mexico”) forces migrants at the border to stay in Mexico pending their asylum hearings. A court recently struck down Biden’s attempt to repeal MPP, and the administration announced Friday they would reinstate it as early as mid-November. Both immigrant rights’ groups and legal experts say MPP puts asylum-seekers at great risk, as they’re forced to wait for months (sometimes years) in unsafe camps and dangerous border cities under a “fundamentally flawed program that blocks [them] from a fair day in court.”
The administration also continues to employ Title 42, Trump’s pandemic policy allowing the government to temporarily block noncitizens from entering the US in the interest of public health. Since March 2020, the policy has been used more than 1 million times by southern border officials to rapidly expel migrants without a hearing. When a federal judge recently blocked Title 42 from being used to expel families, Biden’s administration chose to appeal, and has continued to enforce expulsions while litigation continues.
The situation is particularly dire for Haitian migrants, who face not only the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and growing gang violence but also increasing political instability following the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Among the 83 countries with US asylum decision data available, Haiti has the highest rate of denial, with less than 5% of requests granted from October 2018 through June 2021. Despite the White House’s response to public outcry over images of US Border Patrol agents using whip-like cord on Haitians, expulsions and deportations continue, with DHS sending 65 repatriation flights carrying 7,000+ migrants back to Haiti from September 19 to October 3.
These racist, anti-Black policies directly affect our community. New York has the largest Black immigrant population and second-largest Haitian population in the country. Colonialism and US global policies are directly connected to the need for many to flee to the US. We must end Title 42, MPP, and other racist policies.
In solidarity,
SURJ NYC