Chevron: Fueling the Right Against Title 42 and the Denial of U.S. Asylum Rights

Authors

Nicholas Pierre-Paul, University of Miami School of Law

Abstract

This Note was inspired by the questionable treatment of Haitian asylum seekers in Del Rio, Texas, where horseback U.S. officials charged at them using reins as whips, before immediately deporting them back to Haiti. The U.S. government justified its actions by claiming that Title 42 permits U.S. officials to prohibit the entry of individuals when there is a danger of introducing certain diseases, such as COVID-19. However, Title 42 conflicts with the United States’ codified commitment to the principle of non-refoulment, prohibiting it from returning certain refugees to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. Accordingly, the U.S. government is facing several lawsuits exposing Title 42‘s function of immigration regulation through alleged COVID19 pretenses. Thus, this Note will breakdown the United States’ displacement of the right to seek asylum by (1) analyzing U.S. treaty obligations through the lens of past Haitian refugee litigation and Haiti’s current affairs and (2) evaluating the U.S. government’s contention that Title 42 is entitled to deference under Chevron U.S.A. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council.

Recommended Citation

Nicholas Pierre-Paul, Chevron: Fueling the Right Against Title 42 and the Denial of U.S. Asylum Rights, 54 U. MIA Inter-Am. L. Rev. 169 (2023)
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umialr/vol54/iss1/7