Expiration of Title 42
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Illegal, Aliens, Unlawful, Criminals.
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2023-06-05T22:14:24-07:00
Dehumanization of Migrants
Illegal, Aliens, Unlawful, Criminals. These are only a few words used in the communication of the United States government with agencies within it and the public outside of it when referring to immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, entering the country. These terms reduce immigrants to their legal status, ignoring their inherent dignity and humanity, and equates the nature of the immigration, of their existence, as criminal.
This rhetoric has made it so that "illegality" is seen as equal to Latino/a immigrants, as policy and media reinforces the synonymy. Language that dehumanizes or marginalizes immigrants perpetuates negative biases, making it more difficult to empathize with their experiences and challenges. It reflects and reinforces existing power dynamics in society and influences how immigrants are treated and valued within the United States. Historically, immigrants are used to supplement the work of Americans who aren't willing to do the jobs at the low salaries corporations offer in agricultural, construction and other industries. For example, the bracero program that imported Mexican agricultural workers with false promises to consolidate the loss of work due to World War 2 and increase profits with meager pay. This choice of language also reinforces the exclusionary measures current immigration policy is. Such as the separation of children at the border, where the cruel policy was used as a deterrent for future immigrants that fear of being separated from their children would prevent them from crossing. This is also seen in the allowance of border vigilante groups such as The Minutemen, citizens that take it upon themselves to protect "their" land from being invaded by illegal immigrants. These people who participate in, what is essentially, the hunting of immigrants are influenced by this dehumanization.
Such is the nature of Title 42, a policy that is expiring but whose original intention and its present usage is a demonstration of this dehumanization.
Title 42
Title 42 is a section of the United States code that grants the Secretary of HHS and the CDC the authority to take measures to prevent the introduction, transmission, and spread of communicable diseases into the United States. This section has basis in the Public Health Service Act of 1944, which permitted the HHS and the CDC to address public health emergencies and impose restrictions to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. This has then been invoked throughout history to address disease diffusion. Most recently, and contentiously, it was used during the COVID-19 in 2020 by former President Trump as a way to rapidly expel immigrants, including asylum-seekers, at the U.S.-Mexico border, under the argument that their entry would pose a risk of spreading COVID-19.
This rapid expulsion was a part of the "zero tolerance" policy of Trump-era immigration policy, it contributed to the cruelty of separation of children at the border and the mistreatment of any undocumented immigrant or asylum seeker. Title 42, however, is coming to an end. The Biden administration has set an official date of expiration of May 11, this expiration brings forth the prediction of an influx of immigrants arriving to the United States especially in combination with the delay Trump's administration caused and the outdated existing policy. With its expiration, a new policy is being put in place where any and all immigrants that arrive to the United States border without going through the correct channels will be turned away and not allowed to re-enter until five years have passed. This, however, is also combined with the opening of new processing centers in various countries to expedite the process and lower the number of unauthorized immigrants arriving at the border.
