The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced late Friday night that, following a public health reassessment, agency director Rochelle Walensky had moved to suspend the use of a Trump-era expulsion policy pertaining to unaccompanied migrant children.
“In effect, this means that unaccompanied noncitizen children will not be expelled from the United States under CDC’s order,” the release detailed.
While the expulsion policy technically applies to all migrants seeking asylum in the US, the Biden administration exempted unaccompanied minors from Title 42 in early 2021.
US District Judge Mark Pittman, however, ruled last week that the Biden administration could no longer exempt unaccompanied minors from Title 42 procedures.
Within Pittman’s 37-page order, the Texas judge suggested that his state had borne a financial burden for the migrant children relocated to the region, with access to education and medical services under the policy.
The Texas judge had been appointed to his position by US President Donald Trump in 2019.
The CDC detailed in a Friday memo that the agency has since determined that the expulsion of unaccompanied migrant children “is not warranted to protect the public health.”
“Because it is not warranted, and in recognition of the unique vulnerabilities of unaccompanied noncitizen children, CDC is immediately terminating the CDC Orders to the extent they apply to them,” read the release.
A separate 21-page release from Walensky highlighted that the termination does not apply to individuals in family units or single adults seeking asylum in the US. This continuation appears contrary to a recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which stipulated that the government may not expel migrants to nations where their “life or freedom would be threatened.”
According to Walensky, the CDC will complete a separate Title 42 review by March 30, before the federal appeals court’s ruling is set to take effect.
Per US law, unaccompanied, non-Mexican children encountered at the southern US border are placed under the custody of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
As of March 8, at least 62,644 migrant children in HHS custody have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 15,994 migrant children have received two doses of the vaccine, according to the CDC.
Around 1% of children under HHS care have refused the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Biden administration’s decision comes after a group of Democratic lawmakers issued a joint memo advocating for the end of the Trump-era expulsion policy.
In a statement issued last week by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the group argued that the continued use of the Trump policy “created life-threatening conditions for vulnerable migrants, enriched human smugglers, and significantly increased the number of dangerous border crossings.”
Appeals from Democrats continued through Thursday, when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared in a press call that he was “disappointed in the administration’s response” to Title 42, which “goes against everything this country stands for.”
Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus