AILA President Allen Orr Responds to D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Decision Rejecting “Title 42”

Allen Orr, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) responded to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision which rejects the government’s continued use of “Title 42” to deny asylum seekers entrance into the U.S. with the following statement:

“The decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is a significant victory for the migrant families who have correctly and consistently asserted that the law of this nation protects those fleeing persecution, and for all of us advocating for this cruel policy to end. In its ruling the panel made two significant points. First, it rejected the use of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) public health expulsion order to send people to danger and called the government’s claim that it slowed the spread of COVID-19 as ‘questionable.’ But most importantly, the court heard and reacted to the evidence presented by the plaintiffs of the kidnappings, death threats, and other harms they and thousands of others have faced. Its conclusion was that the U.S. government should stop forcing families and children to ‘walk the plank’ back to harm. Given the judicial resources already spent defending this indefensible order, the Biden Administration needs to re-direct its energy to re-opening this country to all asylum seekers, regardless of race, language or creed, not just families, seeking protection in the U.S. Let this be the last time the courts must remind them of their obligation under the law.”

Related Resources

• D.C. Circuit Says DHS Cannot Expel Families Without Assessing whether They May Be Persecuted or Tortured (Huisha-Huisha, et al. v. Mayorkas, et al., 3/4/22)
• Follow Litigation over Title 42 Migrant Expulsions