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Senior State Department official resigns from Biden administration, writing scathing note upon leaving that criticized the administration’s use of Trump-era regulations that allow government to deport illegal immigrants .
In the memo, obtained by Politico, Senior State Department adviser Harold Koh called the administration’s use of Trump-era Title 42 “inhumane.”
“It is just not worthy of this administration that I support so strongly,” Koh said in the October 2 note.
Title 42 gives the administration the ability to ban people from entering the country during a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration used it to deport thousands of migrants without giving them the opportunity to seek asylum.
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But critics of the policy like Koh argue that it is illegal.
“I believe this administration’s current implementation of the Title 42 authority continues to violate our legal obligation not to deport or return [“refouler”] individuals who fear persecution, death or torture, especially migrants fleeing Haiti, ”Koh argued, adding that“ legal and more humane alternatives clearly exist, and there are opportunities in the near future to substitute these alternatives to the current, very imperfect policy. “
But the White House and the State Department have argued that their continued use of the policy centers on recommendations from the Centers 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]”A White House official said of the administration’s use of the policy.” The CDC has determined that the continued deportation of some people under Title 42 is necessary due to transmission risks and the spread of COVID-19 in assembly places, such as U.S. customs posts and border patrols, as well as the threat of emerging variants. “
The CDC noted on Saturday that the invocation of Title 42 “continues to be necessary at this time.”
Title 42 has also been the subject of a meandering court battle, most recently after the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit suspended a federal judge’s ruling that the policy was illegal. This suspension preserved the administration’s ability to continue to use Title 42 while the matter was decided.
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But in his note, Koh noted differences in the administration’s approach to Afghan refugees fleeing the country after the US withdrawal and migrants seeking asylum at the southern border.
“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” Koh said.
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