Elizabeth Cohen Speaks With Washington Examiner About the Ending of Title 42

May 19, 2023

Washington Examiner

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

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Washington Examiner

Title 42 is an emergency health authority, most recently enacted in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s administration to allow U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The restrictions expired last week.

The Biden administration and House Republicans are pointing fingers at each over immigration, with money a key issue. Republicans are calling for more enforcement, the White House is asking for more Border Patrol funding. And comprehensive immigration reform has not taken place since the 1990s.

The lack of guidance and updates to the law is what led Title 42 to become so important in the first place, argues Elizabeth Cohen, professor of political science.

“Title 42 is only the most recent of a long history of using health concerns as a justification for free movement restrictions," she says. "For example, it was only in 2010 that restrictions were removed on the entry of persons who are HIV positive."

She argues that more judges are indeed needed as wait times have increased and said immigrants have a very high rate of attending their hearings.

Read more in the Washington Examiner article, “More money or more enforcement: Biden and GOP debate border fixes."