Not in Our Name: The Disingenuous Use of “Public Health” as Justification for Title 42 Expulsions in the Era of the Migrant Protection Protocols

EXCERPT

Like many of the asylum seekers turned away at the border by the Unites States, Celina (name changed to protect her identity) left her home country of Honduras in early 2020 in hopes of a better life, to escape violence and harsh economic conditions, and wishing to reunite with family members living in the United States. However, on reaching the US border, Celina and her child were returned to Mexico because of a policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Celina was then kidnapped in Mexico, causing her to miss her immigration hearing. When she was finally released and attempted to cross into the United States a second time, she was turned back again, this time because of a second US public health policy known as Title 42, which prevents would-be migrants from entering the country or seeking asylum because of concerns that they may spread COVID-19.

While waiting in Mexico for a chance to reopen her closed MPP case, Celina became worried that she might be pregnant. She had missed her menses, which was not atypical given her history of irregularity, but she started having severe abdominal and pelvic pain accompanied by fevers. A home pregnancy test confirmed her condition. Concerned, she attempted to obtain pregnancy care in Mexico five times but was turned away each time because of her migrant status and her inability to pay for her care. This experience, combined with her history of trauma in her home country and her kidnapping, led Celina to have suicidal ideation. Fortunately for Celina, she was one of the lucky few asylum seekers who was able to secure assistance from a legal team. Members of the legal team approached local border physicians (S. D. R. and M. G.) requesting a letter of declaration attesting to the seriousness of her medical condition. With this letter, the legal team was able to obtain approval for humanitarian parole, which allowed Celina to enter the United States, reunite with her family, and, ultimately, receive appropriate medical care for her pregnancy.

Sadly, Celina’s experience at the US border is not uncommon, although her ultimate admission to the United States is rare indeed. Because of the confluence of MPP and the 2020 invocation of 42 US Code § 265 (hereafter “Title 42”), an obscure public health policy last updated in 1944, more than a million expulsions of migrants and asylum seekers occurred at the US border in fiscal year 2021 alone, contrary to international law.1