Title 42 applies to all migrants into the US, but not Ukrainians
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These two months have witnessed a surge in Ukrainian migrants trying to cross the US-Mexico border illegally, and they are allowed in on a case-by-case basis.
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A Ukrainian family turned away by US officials (San Diego Tribune)
Migrants seeking asylum in the US are showing up at the US-Mexico border in increasing numbers. 1,000 Ukrainians have shown up so far in March, while 272 had shown up in February, according to Axios.
In light of the war in Ukraine, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters that border officials have been told to consider exemptions for Ukrainians from the Title 42 policy enacted during the Trump administration.
Title 42 is a public health order enacted under former president Donald Trump, which allows for the swift removal of migrants under the excuse of public health reasons (meaning COVID-19). The Biden administration made use of the order to force out tens of thousands of migrants.
More than one million migrants have so far been expelled using Title 42. Hundreds of Ukrainians have been allowed to enter the US last week, but Russians were still stuck, causing some to sleep on the sidewalk outside a barbed-wire border fence, defying Mexican authorities' orders to depart.
Double standards
The exceptions are being made on a case-by-case basis according to the Department of Homeland Security. The US government said on Thursday that it would welcome up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine.
According to the UN, more than 3 million Ukrainians have become refugees, most of them in countries bordering Ukraine. According to reports from the media, thousands of Russians have also left Russia.
A group of Haitian migrants filed a federal class-action lawsuit in December against the US government, following their "humiliating" experience at the US border with Mexico in Del Rio, Texas.
The experience with Border Patrol agents, who were on horseback, gained infamy as a result of the agents' use of violence.
The experience of Russian and other migrants at the US borders highlights the double standards being practiced by the US government in treating refugees from different countries, which stands in stark contrast with their new acceptance of refugees from Ukraine.
