2022-01-21 12:14:38

ACLU Lawyer: Biden Is “Hiding Behind CDC” to Keep Pushing Trump-Era Anti-Immigrant Title 42 Policy

As the Biden administration marks its first year in office this week, we look at the president’s ongoing defense of Trump-era anti-immigration policies. Department of Justice lawyers were in court Wednesday to defend the Trump-era order known as Title 42, which has been used to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants at the border without screening them for asylum. The policy was touted as a way to control the spread of COVID-19, even though top CDC officials say it’s not needed to contain the virus. Democracy Now! speaks with the ACLU’s Lee Gelernt, who is the lead lawyer challenging the Biden administration’s use of Title 42.

He accuses the Biden administration of “trying to hide behind CDC” to play politics and says the policy violates international law and is inhumane, as it forces migrants back into dangerous situations they fled from. “The U.S. government is pushing them back over the border,” he says. “The cartels are sitting there at the end of the bridge waiting for them, and yet we continue to push them over.” Gelernt discusses how he was also a part of negotiations to financially compensate migrant parents separated from their children under Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, but Biden cut off the talks after facing Republican criticism.

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. 

On DN!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.

Missed an episode?  Check out DN on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change. 

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling, and online at freespeech.org.

ACLU Amy Goodman Asylum CDC COVID-19 Department Of Justice Joe Biden Juan Gonzalez Lee Gelernt Title 42 U.S. Government Zero Tolerance Policy

Politics

The Rick Smith Show

The Rick Smith Show | Project 2025 in Action

The Rick Smith Show | Project 2025 in Action

The Thom Hartmann Program

The Thom Hartmann Program | Fear is the Tool of Fascism

The Thom Hartmann Program | Fear is the Tool of Fascism

The Stephanie Miller Show

The Stephanie Miller Show | Trump’s Cabinet Picks & Oklahoma’s Prayer in Schools Controversy

The Stephanie Miller Show | Trump’s Cabinet Picks & Oklahoma’s Prayer in Schools Controversy

The Rick Smith Show

The Rick Smith Show | Project 2025 in Action

The Rick Smith Show | Project 2025 in Action

Related

Gay USA

Gay USA 10/23/2024 | Trans Lawyer Chase Strangio Will Argue Before US Supreme Court

Gay USA 10/23/2024 | Trans Lawyer Chase Strangio Will Argue Before US Supreme Court

The David Pakman Show

David Pakman Show | Republicans Push for Biden Impeachment Inquiry

David Pakman Show | Republicans Push for Biden Impeachment Inquiry

Democracy Now!

Remembering Juan Ramos, Puerto Rican Activist & Leader of Philadelphia Young Lords

Remembering Juan Ramos, Puerto Rican Activist & Leader of Philadelphia Young Lords

Democracy Now!

100 Years of Statelessness: Kurdish activist walks 300 miles from D.C. to U.N. to demand Kurdish rights

100 Years of Statelessness: Kurdish activist walks 300 miles from D.C. to U.N. to demand Kurdish rights

Proud Partners