We all want to be able to move past the collective trauma we have experienced over the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that access to vaccines, boosters, therapeutics, and tests are critical to combat the virus, keep schools and businesses open, ensure our continued economic recovery, and keep families safe and healthy. 

But astonishingly, Republicans in Washington, D.C. are holding up $10 billion in funding for these vital, life-saving tools, to score political points with their far-right anti-immigrant base.

Quick signature: Tell Congress to pass the COVID-19 relief package now WITHOUT any provision that would continue Title 42. *When you click, you’ll automatically sign on if we already have your information.

What’s happening? 

Last week, Republicans blocked a pre-negotiated, $10 billion bipartisan funding package that would continue our nation’s fight against COVID-19, demanding votes on amendments related to immigration and people seeking asylum at the border. [1]

This move will inevitably prolong the pandemic and leave us unprepared for future variants and surges. Research shows that continuing to vaccinate and boost Americans can not only produce substantial health benefits for individuals, but also big financial returns for the country by preventing hospitalization and death. [2]

Under the Trump administration, a xenophobic policy called Title 42 was misused to prevent people from even requesting asylum, a right that is recognized by national and international law, using the threat of COVID-19 as a pretense. Last week, the Biden administration announced it is putting an end to the misuse of Title 42, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stating it is not necessary to control the spread of COVID-19. [3] Indeed, this policy has become more and more morally and scientifically indefensible as we have become more able to manage COVID-19 with vaccines, treatment, masking, and other preventive measures. Imagine what international outrage would ensue if the countries bordering Ukraine refused to accept Ukrainian refugees because they might bring COVID-19 across the borders! [4]

Despite Title 42 being a cruel and dangerous Trump-era policy grounded in racism and xenophobia, Republicans are now using it as an excuse to block $10 billion in COVID-19 relief funding and demanding Congress include a provision that would revoke Biden’s move and reinstate the Title 42 policy. 

Add your name! Tell Congress not to hold up funding for life-saving tools to combat the spread of COVID-19!

When you click, you’ll automatically sign on to our petition that reads:

Dear Members of Congress,

We all want to be able to move past the collective trauma we have experienced over the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I am writing to urge you to pass the COVID-19 relief package that would provide $10 billion in funding for vaccines, boosters, therapeutics, and tests WITHOUT any provision that would continue Title 42.

Tying sound public health policy to scientifically and morally indefensible immigration policy would be a huge mistake. Families around the country are already feeling the lack of COVID-19 funding with testing centers shutting down and uninsured Americans losing access to free vaccines and treatment for COVID-19. Any delay in funding for measures known to combat the spread of this virus is unconscionable. The vaccines, boosters, tests, and therapeutics this funding will provide will help us keep schools open and the economy going, and help more families stay safe and healthy. 

In addition, Title 42 is a violation of national and international law, and flies in the face of science. It should never have been used to deny asylum-seekers the chance to seek safety in our country. Continuing its misuse would force asylum seekers who are fleeing violence, persecution and war to face family separation or to return to the dangerous conditions that forced them to come here, without even having their asylum claims considered. That would be cruel and indefensible, especially when we now have the tools to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As people around the world watch the generosity with which Ukrainian refugees are being welcomed by European neighboring countries, our cruel Title 42 policy which violates national and international law, provides a stark and shocking contrast. America’s families want lawmakers to create a just and fair process for considering asylum claims that treats all parties with dignity, not to continue Title 42.

Don’t forget to sign on! Tell Congress to pass $10 billion in COVID-19 relief funding without delay!

The more people who speak out, the bigger our impact. Please take a moment to pass on our action link to your friends and family, and to share it on social media: action.momsrising.org/cms/thanks/COVID_relief_end_Title42?source=blog