In response to the announcement from the Department of Homeland Security about the creation of a new parole program for some Venezuelans and that Mexico will accept Title 42 expulsions of Venezuelans, Savitri Arvey, senior policy advisor, Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), stated:

“The Women’s Refugee Commission welcomes the Biden administration’s creation of a new legal pathway for some Venezuelans. However, we are gravely concerned that it is simultaneously expanding its use of Title 42 to expel Venezuelans seeking protection at the US-Mexico border to Mexico.

“Sending Venezuelans seeking safety at the southern border back to Mexico, where they face extortion, violence, and precarious conditions, is inhumane and unacceptable. We welcomed the CDC’s decision in April to end these expulsions, which continue to lack any basis in public health. This decision makes it clear that Title 42 is being used as a on and off switch for access to asylum – a blatant violation of US refugee laws and a betrayal of the administration’s own promises to build a humane and fair asylum process.

“Expanding the inhumane Title 42 policy also contradicts the commitments made – by the administration – at the Summit of the Americas earlier this year. By signing the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, the US and 20 other countries, including Mexico, pledged to promote regular pathways for migration and international protection, as well as humane migration management.

“We urge the administration to change course on Title 42 and take all possible steps to restore access to asylum, including at ports of entry. We also urge the administration to expand legal pathways, such as the new special parole program, to meet the humanitarian need of Venezuelans and individuals from other countries in the region fleeing political persecution and economic hardship.”

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