Stranded in Mexico: The Human Cost of Title 42

[modol heula]

Before August 2021, Ana* had never even considered leaving her home in Hidalgo, Mexico. Then she was kidnapped by members of a drug cartel, and discovered that the father of her children — who had abused her — was in league with her kidnappers.

https://www.hihonor.com/fr/club/topicdetail/topicid-44270/
https://www.hihonor.com/fr/club/topicdetail/topicid-44274/
https://www.raceofchampions.com/profile/revolution-of-our-times-202...
https://rextester.com/TRL49521
https://coliru.stacked-crooked.com/a/796757b7744c3352
https://yamcode.com/puajwki98p
https://dotnetfiddle.net/zeFYgN
http://cpp.sh/8gl7c
http://cpp.sh/2rns7
http://cpp.sh/86xzg
https://pastebin.com/Vdz9S16u
https://pastebin.com/e2hTtScY
http://cpp.sh/3pxdr
https://pastebin.com/915pDube
http://cpp.sh/2crhb
https://pastebin.com/WZ3mby8q
https://pastebin.com/jLpfsDkn
https://ideone.com/0HyRMi
https://jsfiddle.net/d2ghx8wr/
https://paste.tbee-clan.de/FhyQ7
https://notes.io/qeZqK
https://paste2.org/fFYK4XbA
https://paiza.io/projects/I92fVSzy4ZIvwEPDbfMXiw
https://onlinegdb.com/KRQnMbS9l
https://bitbin.it/g0VGTZ8C/
https://tech.io/snippet/LfiBnge
https://txt.fyi/-/22151/7e6bfccc/
https://geany.org/p/bmXK8/

After her captors released her under the promise that she would return to work for the cartel, she fled north with her children to Juárez, a city just across the border from El Paso, Texas. At each stage of her journey, she was terrified that her kidnappers were on her heels. Yet when she presented herself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a port of entry, she was prevented from seeking asylum — a right guaranteed by U.S. and International law.

“They told me there was no way I could cross into the United States,” said Ana. “Even if my life was at risk, they didn’t care.”

Since March 2020, a public health law known as Title 42 has blocked people from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, ostensibly to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Although public health experts have stated from the start that the policy does not improve public health and other entry restrictions have long ago been lifted, as of March 2022 there have been over 1.8 million expulsions under Title 42.

On April 1, 2022, the CDC announced that the Title 42 order would end on May 23. Since then, numerous legal and legislative challenges have been raised to prevent the policy’s end, with pressure to continue Title 42 coming from both sides of the political aisle as midterm elections approach. Those lobbying to preserve this health order cite fears that ending Title 42 will lead to more people attempting to enter the U.S., despite the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) outlining a robust strategy to manage arrivals at the border.

The human cost of continuing to enforce this policy is high; for over two years, people denied entry under Title 42 have been forced into some of the most dangerous areas of Mexico, where they are frequently targeted for violence. Since President Biden took office, Human Rights First has tracked at least 9,886 cases of kidnapping, torture, rape, and other violent crimes against those impacted by Title 42.

“Asylum seekers and migrants are targets of violence because everything they have is on their back,” said Nicolas Palazzo, a HIAS border fellow working for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, an El Paso-based nonprofit providing free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees. Currently, six HIAS border fellows work at nonprofit legal organizations in the border regions of Texas, Arizona, and California to increase their capacity to provide legal representation to asylum seekers.

“People know that law enforcement will not protect migrants,” continued Palazzo. “I have yet to see a single investigation of violence against one of my clients completed.”