Former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro on Friday knocked the Biden administration over its refugee policy.
In a lengthy Twitter thread, Castro criticized the administration for continuing to expel migrants under Title 42 — a Trump-era policy for expulsions on the basis of public health.
“When Stephen Miller proposed using Title 42 to suspend our asylum system, the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] strongly pushed back,” Castro tweeted, citing an Associated Press article reporting that Miller pushed for the policy.
“Vice President Pence had to intervene to pressure the CDC to implement it. Some staff resigned over it,” he added.
Castro said that public health experts and doctors have urged the Biden administration to end the policy, arguing that the it was spurred by politics rather than science.
“Hundreds—or even thousands—of asylum-seekers fleeing desperate conditions have been deported back to those same places, only to be kidnapped, tortured, raped, or murdered. This is why asylum is an international human right—this is why it exists,” Castro said.
Castro’s comments come as Democratic anger grows over the administration’s treatment of Haitian migrants who camped out under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday that the bridge had been completely cleared out, meaning that the agency had processed about 15,000 migrants who were under the bridge.
“In the past week alone, the administration has used Title 42 to deport 15,000 Haitians who fled disasters, poverty, and political turmoil,” he added.
Castro said the Biden administration has made “great strides” to control the pandemic. He further said that President Biden has reversed course on “many important” policies.
However, on the issue of asylum, “Trump’s policies appear to be becoming default.”
“Joe Biden was elected to turn the page on Trump’s cruelty, recklessness, and incompetence—especially on immigration,” Castro said. “Voters EXPECT him to not only end these policies, but build our immigration system back better—with compassion and common sense, as he promised.”