haitian migrants
Haitian asylum seekers board a bus in Del Rio, Texas, in September following their release from immigration custody. Photo by Leonardo March

MIAMI — Title 42, a federal policy used during the pandemic to bar and expel migrants mainly at the US-Mexico border, was blocked by a federal judge this week. This policy, conjured by the Trump administration and continued under Biden, drew controversy over whether it should be used to turn away migrants seeking an asylum hearing.

“This is a huge victory and one that literally has life-and-death stakes,” said Lee Gelernt, the lead American Civil Liberties Union lawyer on the Title 42 federal case in a statement. “We have said all along that using Title 42 against asylum seekers was inhumane and driven purely by politics.”

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Ashley Miznazi is a Report for America corps member covering the Haitian community in the South Florida/Miami area for The Haitian Times. Her work will heavily feature photography, video and other multimedia storytelling. Previously, Ashley was a multimedia fellow at The Texas Tribune, where she reported on DACA, Afghan resettlement and the foster care system.