ST. PAUL, Minn. & ATLANTA — The Center for Victims of Torture™ (CVT) today issued this statement in response to the preliminary injunction on the ban of Title 42.

“We are deeply disappointed that U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays of Louisiana has issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal government from ending use of the Title 42 ban today, and we welcome the Biden administration’s decision to appeal this ruling.

“The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s Title 42 ban has been utilized to prevent people from exercising their legal right to seek asylum under the false pretense of public health. The administration’s decision to finally end the use of the Title 42 order came following immense outcry from public health experts, elected officials and countless legal and immigrant rights advocates. The Center for Victims of Torture in Georgia, along with many other members of Atlanta’s public health, medical, legal and immigrants’ rights communities, has called for the CDC to end the Title 42 ban repeatedly over the years. The lack of public health justification behind the Title 42 ban threatens the credibility and reputation of the CDC.

“Beyond being illegal and lacking any credible basis in public health, the Title 42 ban is also cruel and life-threatening. On the basis of CVT’s research, the Office of Refugee Resettlement estimates that 44% of refugees in the U.S. have survived torture, with this number likely higher among asylum seekers who are often fleeing violence and persecution. Denying these individuals their ability to seek asylum puts an already vulnerable and traumatized population at further risk. At CVT’s new clinic along the Southern border in Arizona, we are already seeing the detrimental impacts of the Title 42 ban and the “Remain in Mexico” policies. Cartels in Mexico have targeted individuals stranded in Mexico and exploited their desperate situations. Since January 2021, Human Rights First has tracked nearly 10,000 instances of kidnapping, torture, sexual assault and murder committed against individuals blocked from points of entry.

“For every day the Title 42 ban is continued, more and more lives are put at risk. CVT remains opposed to any misguided efforts to keep the ban in place, whether these efforts be through Congress or the judicial system. The U.S. must act now to restore a just and humane asylum system which reflects our values. -Jessica Douglas, external relations officer, CVT Georgia

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The Center for Victims of Torture is a nonprofit organization with offices in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, United States and additional project sites around the world. Visit www.cvt.org