Booker, Menendez, Luján, Padilla Joint Statement on Biden Administration’s New Border Policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) released the following joint statement on the border policies announced by the Biden Administration today, which include the extension of Title 42 and imposing a “transit ban” in the southern border: 

“While we understand the challenges the nation is facing at the Southern border exacerbated by Republican obstruction to modernizing our immigration system, we are deeply disappointed by the Biden Administration’s decision to expand the use of Title 42. Continuing to use this failed and inhumane Trump-era policy put in place to address a public health crisis will do nothing to restore the rule of law at the border. Instead, it will increase border crossings over time and further enrich human smuggling networks. We are pleased to see an increase in the access to parole for Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Haitians, but this narrow benefit will exclude thousands of migrants fleeing violence and persecution who do not have the ability or economic means to qualify for the new parole process.

“We are also concerned about the Administration’s new transit ban regulation that will disregard our obligations under international law by banning families from seeking asylum at the border, likely separating families and stranding migrants fleeing persecution and torture in countries unable to protect them. We urge President Biden and his Administration to continue to pursue a multi-pronged approach to address the root causes of migration and to work with Congress to implement a more orderly and humane asylum processing system.”