Professor Johnson Talks to National Desk about Potential Title 42 Revival

Reporter Cory Smith of The National Desk spoke to Professor Kevin R. Johnson on Feb. 25 about a CBS News report that President Donald Trump’s administration wants to reinstate the Title 42 public health emergency that blocked migrants from entering the United States during the pandemic.

Trump implemented Title 42 during his first term, amid the COVID-19 crisis. President Joe Biden kept it in place until the public emergency ended in May 2023. As Smith notes in the National Desk story, the CBS report cited internal documents stating the current Trump administration could revive Title 42 under the premise migrants could spread diseases like tuberculosis.

“You certainly can infer that really the effort here isn't to combat tuberculosis or anything like that, but is to close the border at any cost,” Johnson told Smith.

Kevin R. Johnson is a distinguished professor of law, Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law, and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law. Johnson also has an appointment as professor of Chicana/o studies at UC Davis. He served as dean of UC Davis Law from 2008 to 2024. Johnson is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.