Jayapal Celebrates End of Title 42

Today, U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), a longstanding immigrants rights advocate, issued the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would end Title 42, a cruel Trump-era policy put in place during the pandemic that allowed the Administration to turn away people seeking safety. Under Title 42, people had no legal process to seek humanitarian protection established under U.S. law. The Biden Administration will lift the policy on May 23.

Statement from Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal:

"This is a momentous day for immigrant rights activists, and immigrants and refugees everywhere. Title 42 was a cruel and discriminatory policy that circumvented U.S. law, preventing people from accessing protections established by Congress. Today is the product of years of advocacy from both inside and outside Congress. I'm thrilled to see the Biden Administration do the right and moral thing by ending this extremely harmful, xenophobic, and shortsighted policy that disproportionately impacted Black and Brown migrants.

"It is hard to overstate the widespread and negative impact Title 42 has had. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 1.7 million people have been expelled under Title 42 - desperate people fleeing famine, violence, and war. Our nation has failed these people, plain and simple. But no more.

"As a lifelong immigrant and refugee rights activist, I could not be more pleased to see the Biden Administration exercise its power to do away with Title 42. We can now begin the work of rebuilding our asylum and refugee systems and fulfill our obligation to welcome people into our country with open arms and hearts."