WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers criticized the Biden administration’s decision to exempt only unaccompanied migrant children from a pandemic policy that closed the border to asylum claims, calling on the administration to shield families from the order as well.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order early Saturday finding it unnecessary to use a public health directive known as Title 42 to turn away migrant children who arrive at the border without their parents. In place since March 2020, the directive allows border agents to rapidly “expel” migrants who cross the southwest border without considering their claims for asylum.
In the wake of the CDC order, issued in response to ongoing litigation brought by the state of Texas, congressional Democrats expressed disappointment the administration did not go further.
