A former U.S. government official has spoken out against the Biden administration’s expansion of Title 42 as a means to deny entry into the country by certain migrants.
Theresa Cardinal Brown is the managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, previously holding positions in the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. On Monday, she shared a news story on Twitter about a leading Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientist denouncing the use of Title 42 to expel migrants from the country.
Brown agreed with the sentiment of the piece, arguing that COVID-19 is “certainly no longer” a health risk significant enough to enforce Title 42. She urged President Joe Biden and his administration to find a different way to handle immigration in the U.S.
“Even if it started with a legitimate health policy concern, it certainly no longer is,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “See: the linking of the new Venezuelan parole policy to the expansion of T42 to those that don’t qualify. Eventually the administration has to decide how to manage the border without T42.”
The use of Title 42 for mass expulsions at the U.S.-Mexico border was enacted by former President Donald Trump in the early days of the pandemic and was retained by Biden. The policy allows the U.S. government to expel those who have recently been in a country where there has been a communicable disease outbreak.
In the story that Brown shared, it was reported that Dr. Marty Cetron, director of global migration and quarantine at the CDC, told a House subcommittee in May that he refused to approve the policy, saying that it would “unfairly stigmatize migrants as spreaders of COVID-19,” according to CBS News.
In a transcript obtained by the outlet, Cetron further said that the policy would amount to a “wholesale border closure” and “risked the misuse of a public health authority.” The subcommittee interview was not previously reported on, as it took place during a closed-door session.
“I was concerned that there may be a motivation that was beyond the specific public health agenda,” Cetron said.
The Biden administration unveiled the expansion of Title 42 on Wednesday, alongside a program to allow a maximum of 24,000 migrants from Venezuela to enter the U.S. by air. As reported by CNN, the policy has left some Venezuelans in the midst of planning to head for the U.S. in limbo, with some arguing the air travel policy favors wealthier residents over the poor and struggling.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.
Read More: Biden Admin Has to Figure Out Border Without Title 42: Former DHS Official