**SET TO EXPIRE ON MAY 23,2022**
Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homanwarned on Sunday that the Biden administration's move to end the use of the Title 42 public health order to expel migrants at the border will create "chaos all across the border."
The policy, used since March 2020 under both Presidents Trump and Biden, provided the ability for American officials to bar migrants from entering the country during a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, the Biden administration confirmed it will terminate the policy at the end of May despite objections from both Democrats and Republicans warning that it would trigger a massive migrant wave.
LAFAYETTE, La. – A federal judge on Friday declined to issue an immediate ruling on whether the Biden administration can rescind COVID-related restrictions that prevent immigrants from requesting asylum in the U.S.
U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays of Louisiana said he would leave in place the Trump-era policy for now while he weighs a legal challenge filed by more than 20 states seeking to bar the White House from rescinding the so-called Title 42 policy.
What is the Title 42?:Why Republicans, some Democrats want it to stay
Title 42, a public health order issued by the Trump administration, allows Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants to Mexico or back to their home countries to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in holding facilities. President Joe Biden kept the policy in place for more than a year, despite fierce objections from immigration activists.
Title 42 expulsions are removals by the U.S. government of persons who have recently been in a country where a communicable disease was present. The extent of authority for contagion-related expulsions is set out by law in 42 U.S.C. § 265. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration used this provision (section 265) to generally block land entry for many migrants. The program has been continued by the Biden administration.[1]
The program allows the US Border Patrol and US Customs and Border Protection to prohibit the entry of persons who potentially pose a health risk by being subject to previously-announced travel restrictions or because by unlawfully entering the country to bypass health-screening measures.[2][3] Its use was implemented under the Trump administration and has continued under the Biden administration to prohibit asylum seekers from lawfully petitioning for asylum in the United States.[4] Persons subject to the order are not held in congregate areas for processing and are instead immediately expelled to their country of last transit.[3] If they are unable to be returned to the country of last transit, the Border Patrol will work with its interagency partners to expel the person to their country of origin.[3] Expulsions under Title 42 are not based on immigration status and are tracked separately from immigration.[3]
Title 42 of the United States Code, Chapter 6A, Subchapter II, Part G, Section 265 states:[5]
§265. Suspension of entries and imports from designated places to prevent spread of communicable diseases
Whenever the Surgeon General determines that by reason of the existence of any communicable disease in a foreign country there is serious danger of the introduction of such disease into the United States, and that this danger is so increased by the introduction of persons or property from such country that a suspension of the right to introduce such persons and property is required in the interest of the public health, the Surgeon General, in accordance with regulations approved by the President, shall have the power to prohibit, in whole or in part, the introduction of persons and property from such countries or places as he shall designate in order to avert such danger, and for such period of time as he may deem necessary for such purpose. (July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title III, §362, 58 Stat. 704.)
- Hesson, Ted; Dwyer, Mimi (February 10, 2021). "White House says 'vast majority' of migrants at U.S.-Mexico border will be turned away". Reuters. Washington, D.C. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "FY 2021 Nationwide Enforcement Encounters: Title 8 Enforcement Actions and Title 42 Expulsions". Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "FY 2020 Nationwide Enforcement Encounters: Title 8 Enforcement Actions and Title 42 Expulsions". Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "Q&A US Title 42 Policy to Expel Migrants at the Border". Human Rights Watch. April 8, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "U.S. Code, Title 42, Chapter 6A, Subchapter II, Pary G, Section 265". U.S. Government. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Owen, Quinn; Brantley-Jones, Kiara (August 6, 2020). "CBP chief defends rapid border 'expulsions' as unauthorized crossing attempts grow". ABC News.
When lawyers for Arizona, Louisiana and Missouri went to court to challenge the Biden administration's plan to lift the pandemic border restrictions known as Title 42, they didn't file the lawsuit near the border, or in a state capital.
They brought their case to the Western District of Louisiana, where it was very likely to be assigned to a judge appointed by former President Trump.
That helps explain why U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays heard oral arguments today in a courthouse in Lafayette, Louisiana, more than 500 miles from the border.
President Biden has struggled to end a number of hardline immigration restrictions held over from the Trump administration, in large part because Republican-led states have gone to court to keep those policies in place. The states argue that lifting border restrictions will lead to increased health care and other costs.
But immigrant advocates say these states are deliberately steering cases to federal judges appointed by former President Trump, where they know they'll get a sympathetic hearing.
"To date, these states have brought no less than 17 lawsuits challenging President Biden's immigration moves," said Karen Tumlin, the founder and director of the Justice Action Center, on a call this week with reporters. In effect, these states are using the courts to "keep a shadow Trump administration in office on immigration issues," she said.
The court appears likely to extend Title 42
More than 20 states have joined the lawsuit seeking to block the Biden administration from ending Title 42 later this month, arguing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not go about terminating the public health order properly.
States have been successful in legal challenges so far
So far, the states challenging Biden's immigration policies have won some key victories.
A federal judge in Texas, who was also appointed by Trump, blocked President Biden's 100-day moratorium on deportations.
Another Trump appointee in Texas ordered the administration to restart the so-called "Remain In Mexico" program, the Trump-era policy that forced migrants to wait in dangerous border towns for their immigration court hearings.
