Trump Invokes Title 42 — Expels Migrants at Border Citing COVID (2020-03-20)

The Trump administration invokes Title 42, a public health law, to expel migrants at the border without allowing them to seek asylum, citing COVID-19. The policy is used over 2.8 million times to expel migrants, including unaccompanied children. Public health officials later testify that COVID transmission at the border was minimal and the policy was a pretext for immigration restriction. Title 42 remains in effect until Biden ends the COVID emergency in 2023.