Biden Blocked by Supreme Court and Resulted with Plans on Ending Migrant Expulsions Under Title 42 Denied
The Supreme Court denies the Biden Administration of setting the nation’s immigration policy and stated that the government could not halt the expulsion of migrants for public health reasons under the controversial Title 42 program.
That program, which has existed since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, must continue while the courts assess a lawsuit filed by Republican officials in 19 states who states that unwinding the Title 42 policy would unleash a national “catastrophe.”
The emergency intervention from the high court arrived days after the Trump-era program was supposed to expire. The justices declared they will hear statements about the program in the upcoming year, but limited their review to whether the conservative states may intervene in the litigation. Oral arguments are expected in February. In the meantime, expulsions will proceed.
According to a published post by USA Today, the high court’s unsigned order pointed out that Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan would have rejected the emergency request from the states and permitted the administration to lift the Title 42 policy
On Tuesday, Associate Justice, Neil Gorsuch dissented from the court’s ruling, joined by Associate Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. Gorsuch reported that the court’s decision on the state’s emergency request was “unwise,”.
“The emergency on which those (Title 42) orders were premised has long since lapsed.”, he added. Gorsuch said that The only plausible reason for stepping in has to do with the states’ concerns about immigration and the situation on the border.
Gorsuch also added that the current border crisis is not a COVID crisis and courts should not be in the business of perpetuating administrative edicts designed for one emergency only because voted-for officials have failed to address a different emergency. We are not policymakers of last resort, We are a court of law.
While the decision was a legal loss for President Joe Biden, the political significance was less clear: The administration’s action to lift Title 42 has drawn sharp complaints from Republicans and uncertainty from some Democrats who fear border communities were not prepared for an influx of migrants.
The Supreme Court’s judgment appeared to defuse that situation for now, even though it left thousands of migrants in limbo. Secretary of White House press, Karine Jean-Pierre reported in a statement that the Biden administration would comply with the high court’s ruling.
She also stated that the administration is advancing its “preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 ultimately lifts and will proceed with expanding legal pathways for immigration. She said that title 42 is a public health measure, not an immigration enforcement measure, and it should not be lengthened indefinitely.
The Supreme Court denies the Biden Administration of setting the nation’s immigration policy and stated that the government could not halt the expulsion of migrants for public health reasons under the controversial Title 42 program. (Photo: USA Today)
The Function of Title 42 on Migrant Expulsion
Title 42 allows Customs and Border Protection agents to expel migrants without the usual legal review to Mexico or to their home countries to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in holding facilities.
It has been used for immigrant expulsion more than 2.4 million times since its execution in 2020 and has bottled up tens of thousands of migrants in Mexican border cities who are in wait to request asylum in the States.
The Biden administration proposed in April that it intended to wind down the Title 42 policy because vaccines and therapeutics had eased the impact of the virus. Separately, a federal court in Washington, D.C., ruled in November that the way the program was made violated the law and ordered the administration to end it by Dec. 21.
That mandate was paused temporarily by the Supreme Court. The legal wrangling set up possible humanitarian trouble for the White House and sowed confusion on both sides of the border, where many migrants waited for word about whether they could search for asylum in the States.
Some migrants in Juárez told The El Paso Times they had taken notice that the border would “close” on Dec. 21; others that it would “open.” People staying in shelters shared stories of friends who had been expelled and others who had been able to remain in the U.S.
Disagreement over Title 42 made its way to the Senate floor on Dec. 22, as lawmakers raced to approve a $1.7 trillion spending plan before the holiday weekend. Two last-minute amendments that might have lengthened the program failed.
White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden administration officials have said they have rushed resources to the border but have also called on Congress to spend more than $3 billion to accelerate the processing of asylum claims and to move some migrants to less crowded facilities. “We need Congress to provide us the funds we’ve requested to do this in an orderly, safe, and humane way,” the White House said that the president will travel to Mexico next month to meet with Me
READ ALSO: Biden Administration Prepares For The Pre-Christmas Border Crisis
