Resigning State Department adviser condemns Biden's 'inhumane' migrant expulsions under Title 42


Harold Koh, a legal adviser to the U.S. State Department, is using his resignation from the Biden administration to share his thoughts regarding Title 42, a Trump-era policy wielded to expel migrants from the southern border, ostensibly for reasons of public health, Politico reports. The administration recently employed the policy to deport Haitians who had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico, notes The Hill.
Koh, the "sole political appointee on the State Department's legal team," criticized Title 42 in an Oct. 2 memo circulating around the administration, calling it "illegal," "inhumane," and "not worthy of this administration that I so strongly support," per Politico.
"I believe this administration's current implementation of the Title 42 authority continues to violate our legal obligation not to expel or return ('refouler') individuals who fear persecution, death, or torture, especially migrants fleeing from Haiti," Koh wrote in his memo. An administration official told Politico that Koh's departure was "long-planned."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The memo is just "the latest example of internal stife" regarding immigration policy (and specifically Title 42) within the Biden administration; in one recent example, the U.S. special envoy to Haiti stepped down in protest of "inhumane" deportation of Haitian refugees.
The White House has insisted Title 42 is not an immigration authority and is instead governed by the CDC as a public health authority.
In his memo, Koh also outlined the difference between the administration's treatment of Afghan refugees and its use of Title 42, and called on officials to revise the policy, "especially as it affects Haitians," into one "that is worthy of this nation we love." Read more at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodle
Cartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Koreans detained in US Hyundai raid return home
Speed Read Over 300 Koreans were detained at the plant last week
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers