Redfield: ‘Premature’ to Remove Title 42, I Instituted it to Protect Health of Migrants

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” former CDC Director Robert Redfield argued that removing Title 42 is “premature” and said that Title 42 was instituted “really to protect the health and well-being of the immigrants” and that if the agency lifts Title 42, “they better be sure that we have appropriate holding facilities, with appropriate social distancing, with appropriate ventilation, with appropriate vaccination for the immigrants that we’re doing.”

Redfield said, [relevant remarks begin around 2:45] “I hope the CDC reconsiders their decision. This should be a public health decision, not a decision from Washington politics. I instituted Title 42 as a public health measure really to protect the health and well-being of the immigrants crossing the border that were being put in holding cells that really didn’t have social distancing and the ventilation that we required. At the time, we didn’t have vaccination. Obviously, it’s a public health decision. I do have a lot of confidence in the leadership of CDC, but I think they need to reconsider, and if they are going to remove it like they’ve said, they better be sure that we have appropriate holding facilities, with appropriate social distancing, with appropriate ventilation, with appropriate vaccination for the immigrants that we’re doing. I personally think it’s premature for them to remove it.”

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