Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday defended the administration’s retention of a Trump-era policy that allows the swift removal of migrants due to COVID-19 as well as a narrowing in those sought for deportations by law enforcement officials.
The Biden administration is under increasing pressure to scrap Title 42, a policy crafted under the Trump administration that allows officials to immediately turn away adult migrants and asylum-seekers to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Mayorkas on Wednesday reiterated that administration’s position that the policy is necessary as a public health measure even as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues new guidelines and states and cities around the country dramatically scale back their pandemic restrictions.
“We are watching the science, led by the CDC, and we will no longer rely upon title 42 When there is no longer a public health imperative basis,” Mayorkas told a House Appropriations subcommittee.
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