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President Biden's new immigration policy

When this photograph was taken in 2018, the subject of border walls between the United States and Mexico was a controversial political topic.
rawpixel.com / Carol M Highsmith
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The iron wall in the Arizona border town of Nogales

On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we discuss President Biden's immigration policy and the end of Title 42 public health order, which allowed border officials to swiftly expel migrants at the US border.

The Biden administration tried to phase out Title 42 last year, but was blocked by a lawsuit filed by Republicans in 19 states. By the time it ended – due to the expiration of the Covid-19 public health emergency – Title 42 had been used to expel migrants over 2.7 million times from the US southern border, according to government statistics.

Biden is now replacing Title 42 with an arguably tougher, more restrictive policy. His administration has implemented a rule barring migrants from asylum if they don’t request refugee status in another country before entering the US, according to The Guardian.

Guests:

Justo Robles, Emmy winning TV producer, and freelance journalist focusing on immigration at The Guardian

Uriel García, immigration reporter at the Texas Tribune

Web Resources:

The Guardian: Title 42 migration restrictions have ended, but Biden’s new policy is tougher

Texas Tribune: Title 42 ends with migrants lined up and border cities braced for the unknown

Al Jazeera: ‘We’re going to America’: Border hope and fear as Title 42 ends

Malihe Razazan is the senior producer of KALW's daily call-in program, Your Call.
Rose Aguilar has been the host of Your Call since 2006. She became a regular media roundtable guest in 2001. In 2019, the San Francisco Press Club named Your Call the best public affairs program. In 2017, The Nation named it the most valuable local radio show.