LCLAA Deeply Disappointed by Supreme Court’s Reinstatement of Remain in Mexico Policy
MEDIA STATEMENT
August 27, 2021
Contact: Pablo Stein
pstein@lclaa.org | (202) 508-6989
WASHINGTON – The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) expresses its deep disappointment with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to reinstate the so-called remain in Mexico policy, whereby undocumented adult migrants attempting to enter the US must remain on the Mexican side of the border if they wish to claim asylum. Migrants who have already entered the US may be expelled to Mexico without an order of deportation or an opportunity to appeal. Remain in Mexico exposes asylum seekers to dangerous conditions and human rights violations on the southern side of the border, where human rights organizations have already recorded 1,500 reports of rape, kidnapping, torture, and other crimes against migrants affected by the policy.
The Supreme Court’s decision is based on Title 42 of US Code, which allows the CDC to ban the entry of individuals who may pose a risk to public health by carrying communicable diseases. While the Trump-era CDC director instituted this ban in March 2020, medical professionals have widely criticized the order as unfounded given that international travel has remained open to documented persons.
This highlights the importance of voting rights for Latino workers, for whom influencing legislation and judicial appointments remains the best means of countering arbitrary and damaging policies such as this one. LCLAA continues to monitor the situation on our southern border and the Biden administration’s approach to the immigration crisis, with a focus on facilitating an orderly and more humane immigration policy.
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The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) is the leading national organization for Latino(a) workers and their families. LCLAA was born in 1972 out of the need to educate, organize and mobilize Latinos in the labor movement and has expanded its influence to organize Latinos in an effort to impact workers’ rights and their influence in the political process. LCLAA represents the interest of more than 2 million Latino workers in the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), The Change to Win Federation, independent unions and all their affiliate unions. Visit LCLAA on the web at www.lclaa.org, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram