On Wednesday, a group of migrants marched from the Sacred Heart Church in the Segundo Barrio to the El Paso County Courthouse to protest the treatment they have been facing, as well as the extension of Title 42.
Most of the protesters had been using Sacred Heart Church as a sanctuary, as they do not have the proper paperwork to leave El Paso legally. They are now at risk of being forced to return to Mexico, leaving them with no place to go.
Angelo Parra, a man from Venezuela, spoke out, asking the government for help with the legal process or a permit to continue their journey. Sarah Isabel Pantoja, originally from Panama and who flies to and from El Paso for her studies in the U.S., joined the march in support of the migrants. She stated that protesting was the only way to make their opinions heard by the government.
Per Puentaz: “Title 42 of the United States Code is the code that addresses public health, social welfare, and civil rights. Title 42 was a previously rarely-used clause of the 1944 Public Health Services Law until the Trump Administration began using it 2020 to stop mass movements of migrants from entering the United States.”