Biden expands Title 42, drawing criticism from activist groups

The Biden administration opted to expand a pandemic-era immigration policy known as Title 42, President Biden announced Thursday. The policy increases expulsions of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, reports The Wall Street Journal. 

The policy allows migrants to be turned back without addressing their requests for asylum. The goal is to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, especially following the rampant criticism of Democratic immigration policies by Republicans, explains the Los Angeles Times. "These actions alone ... aren't going to fix our entire immigration system, but they can help us a good deal in better managing what is a difficult challenge," Biden said in his announcement of the policy expansion. 

His decision has caused criticism from Democrats and human rights groups. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said, "the administration is circumventing immigration law which will exacerbate chaos and confusion at the Southern border," asserting that the policy allows the U.S. to avoid its asylum responsibility and only helps a few select people.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) tweeted, "Access to asylum is a life-saving legal right — restricting it runs contrary to our laws and the Biden administration's promises."  

The International Refugee Assistance Program strongly denounced Biden's action in a statement writing that those whose "lives and freedoms are at risk will be forced to remain in danger and find someone in the United States with the means to financially sponsor them for parole," adding, "The administration must reverse course immediately."

Biden has called for bipartisan legislation to tackle the issue. "If the most extreme Republicans continue to demagogue this issue, and reject solutions, I'm left with only one choice: To act on my own, do as much as I can on my own," he said.