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Koh, the State Department’s legal adviser from 2009 to 2013 under the Obama administration, wrote the note as he quits his daily job and takes up a post at the University of Oxford. An administration official said Koh will remain in a consultant role, An administration official said Koh will remain in a consultant role and his departure was long overdue. Reached by phone, Koh declined to comment.
Koh’s letter has been circulating in administration for the past 48 hours. This is the latest example of an internal conflict within the Biden administration over its immigration policy, with some officials believing the president has pursued too many policies implemented by the Trump administration for fear of Republican attacks .
At the center of this debate is the pursuit of “Title 42”, short for a law that gives the administration the power to ban people from entering the country during a health crisis. The administration used Title 42 to deport thousands of migrants without allowing them to seek asylum, which critics say is in violation of US and international law.
Despite such internal dissent, the White House and State Department contend their hands are tied to change Title 42 and that the continued use of authority was motivated by public health decisions made by the Center for Disease. Control and Prevention.
“Title 42 is a public health authority, not an immigration authority, and that authority belongs to the [Center for Disease Control and Prevention]”said a White House official.” The CDC has determined that the continued deportation of some people under Title 42 is necessary due to the risks of transmission and spread of COVID-19 in assembly places, such as US customs and border patrol posts, as well as the threat of emerging variants. ”
A senior State Department official added, “We defer to the CDC for Title 42 decisions.”
On September 16, a federal judge blocked the administration from using Title 42 to deport migrant families, saying the law cannot prevent people from seeking asylum. But the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit last week put the ruling on hold, preserving the administration’s ability to use the public health order.
Saturday, CDC assessed that the invocation of Title 42 “continues to be necessary for the time being”. The legal battles continue.
Former President Donald Trump issued Title 42 orders to prevent the flow of migrants to the United States, prompting outcry he was using cover of a global pandemic to promote immigration policies hard. Defenders were hopeful President Joe Biden’s team would end the practice. Instead, it has remained in place, most recently used to transport thousands of Haitian asylum seekers away from Del Rio, Texas, and return them to their countries of origin – a situation Koh has put in place. light at the top of his memo.
The security situation in Haiti has deteriorated since the country’s president was assassinated in July, and economic woes plagued the country for decades, in part due to US policies.
Koh’s memo is the latest criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of tens of thousands of Haitian migrants once camped on the Del Rio International Bridge.
Last month, United States Special Envoy to Haiti Daniel Foote left the administration because he did not want to be “associated with the inhuman and counterproductive decision of the United States to expel thousands of Haitian refugees and ‘illegal immigrants to Haiti,’ according to a letter he wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The State Department denied his claims, saying Foote wanted US troops in Haiti to provide security assistance.
The administration has also come under fire for now infamous images of customs and border protection officers on horseback rounding up migrants trying to cross the border. Biden said that as president he takes responsibility for these actions, but also called these scenes “horrible” and “scandalous”. CBP officers are currently prohibited from patrolling the border in Del Rio on horseback, but the measure is temporary.
The United States has transported around 2,000 people on 17 flights to Haiti, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. Briefing of September 24 at the White House. About 8,000 have voluntarily agreed to return to Mexico, Mayorkas continued, while more than 5,000 will be processed by the Department of Homeland Security to be deported or placed in immigration removal proceedings.
Haitians expelled from the border by the Title 42 ordinance remain exasperated by the decision. In September, dozens of people at Port-au-Prince airport attempted to board a plane.
“What can we bring to our family? »Maxine Orélien, one of the people who tried to force the plane, told The Associated Press at the time. “There is nothing we can do for our family here. There is nothing in this country.
In his note, Koh made sure to distinguish between the administration’s use of Title 42 to deport migrants and its approach to refugees seeking entry to America from countries like Afghanistan.
“[O]Our actions and approaches regarding Afghan refugees contrast sharply with the continued use of Title 42 to repel appeals from thousands of Haitians and myriads of others arriving at the southern border fleeing violence, persecution or torture ”, he wrote.
In the memo, Koh suggested four new policies the administration should implement. He called for the suspension of all Title 42 flights, “in particular” to Haiti; to clearly communicate to those on board these flights where they are going; for instituting the standard of a “reasonable possibility of fear” test for eviction checks; and to see if some of the Haitian immigrants may have legal status or family ties in other countries.
Sabrina Rodríguez contributed to this report.
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