Dear President Biden,

As a person of faith, I write to urge your administration to immediately end the misuse of Title 42 public health authority to illegally expel asylum seekers and migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Since March 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has blocked and expelled migrants arriving at the southern border, including asylum seekers and children. These rapid expulsions are being carried out under a Title 42 public health order issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under pressure from the Trump administration, despite objections by CDC health officials that there was no legitimate public health reason to justify such rapid expulsions.

These expulsions have denied asylum seekers their legal right to present their asylum claims. Many have been sent back to their countries of origin, putting them at risk of persecution, torture and other serious danger in violation of U.S. refugee and anti-trafficking laws and treaty obligations.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stated in its March 2020 legal guidance on governmental COVID-19 response that border entry measures should not prevent people from seeking asylum from persecution and that states may not deny entry to people at risk of refoulement.

During your presidential campaign, you committed to end inhumane Trump administration border policies, uphold U.S. laws and treaty obligations to protect refugees and immigrant children, and adopt COVID-19 safety measures based in scientific data. We urge you to follow through with these promises by ending the misuse of Title 42 public health authority at the border. The United States must stop blocking and expelling people seeking U.S. humanitarian protections, ensure appropriate support for shelters and other border groups to assist asylum seekers, and allow families, children and adults to pursue their asylum claims safely and fairly in the United States.

Thank you.