Joint Letter to President Biden, DHS, DPC and NSA on Possible Policy Change to Expel Unaccompanied Children Under Title 42

Four dozen organizations, including Women’s Refugee Commission, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden, the Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Policy Council, and the National Security Agency on a possible policy change to expel unaccompanied children under Title 42.

As organizations that represent and advocate for migrants, refugees, and immigrant children, as well as organizations committed to science-based governmental decision-making, we expressed concern about reports that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials are considering using the Trump-era Title 42 policy to illegally and inhumanely expel 16- and 17-year-old unaccompanied children at the Southern border. We are aware that the administration is working around the clock to receive, shelter and protect unaccompanied children, and that appropriate space is limited, but the law does not permit a policy that turns away unaccompanied children at the border or that redefines protections clearly set forth in federal law.