NEW YORK – As Title 42 is set to expire and be replaced by policies that discourage asylum, T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization representing over 2,300 rabbis and cantors in North America, reiterated the moral and legal imperative to provide a dignified path to legal entry for asylum-seekers.
In a statement, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, said:
“We welcome the end of Title 42, a policy that has forced asylum seekers and refugees — people seeking safety — into inhumane and unsafe conditions. But it must not be replaced with an asylum ban and other dangerous policies or legislation. Seeking asylum is a fundamental, protected human right. We have a moral obligation to welcome asylum seekers with a dignified, just, transparent, and timely system to gain legal entry into the United States.
“Late last year, T’ruah and HIAS sent 15 rabbis to our southern border to bear witness to the dangers of letting Title 42 stand. The system they saw was unjust and created a humanitarian nightmare, forcing people who should have been allowed to apply for asylum from inside the U.S. to make desperate and dangerous attempts to cross the border.
“Unfortunately, as Title 42 ends, both Congress and the administration are advancing a series of policies that will reduce access to asylum at the southern border without addressing the pressing humanitarian needs of refugees. We are outraged that President Biden has officially announced his asylum ban, which rabbis and cantors strongly condemned. And we are outraged that legislators like Senator Tillis and Senator Sinema are pursuing legislative means to codify these harmful policies into U.S. law. We urge all people of conscience to condemn these fear-based moves outright.
“The Torah teaches the obligation to extend love and care to people from outside our home society: ‘You shall love this person as yourself, for you were gerim [foreigners] in the land of Egypt.’ (Leviticus 19:34). As Jews, many of our own families fled danger to find refuge in the U.S., and we know from experience that immigration policy can be a matter of life and death.
“Volunteers and humanitarian organizations across the United States are already helping people seeking asylum. These volunteers demonstrate how to welcome and care for refugees with dignity. It is time to have an asylum system that matches their example. We remain committed to being a loud moral voice advocating for a just and transparent system for asylum seekers to gain legal entry into the United States.”
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of more than 2,300 rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism that, together with the Jewish community, act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.