For Immediate Release: May 20, 2022
Contact: Audrey Carroll, [email protected], 202-601-7875 

Catholic Lobby Decries Title 42 Injunction
Ronnate Asirwatham: “Seeking asylum is legal. Justice-seekers will not allow our federal policies to bend to xenophobia.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Western District of Louisiana Federal Judge Robert R. Summerhays halted the Biden administration’s plan to rescind the Title 42 expulsion policy at the U.S.-Mexico border on May 23, 2022. The court’s decision means that the expulsion policy will remain in place indefinitely. 

The public health order, first invoked by the Trump administration and continued by the Biden administration, has been misused for over two years to illegally block migrants at the U.S. Southern border under the guise of preventing the introduction of coronavirus into the U.S. Such a premise has always been false. Title 42 has resulted in over 1.6 million expulsions of asylum seekers back to harm and over 10,000 incidents of kidnapping, torture, rape, and other violent attacks against vulnerable migrants.  

In response to the decision, Ronnate Asirwatham, NETWORK Government Relations Director, said: 

“Continued Title 42 expulsions will only mean more danger and death for migrants seeking safety at the U.S. border. Title 42 was first invoked as a health policy, since then, it has been used as an expulsion policy to end asylum as we know it. Seeking asylum is legal. Justice-seekers will not allow our federal policies to bend to xenophobia.” 

Joan F. Neal, Deputy Executive Director & Chief Equity Officer, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said: 

“Seeking asylum is a fundamental human right. The continuation of unjust, immoral Title 42 expulsions dishonors the God-given dignity of migrants and violates the internationally-recognized right to seek asylum. We must restore asylum at our southern border.” 

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NETWORK – advocates for justice inspired by Catholic sisters – educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation. They have a 50-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good. www.networklobby.org