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United States President Joe Biden urged the Supreme Court to lift its ban on the removal of Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allows authorities to expel migrants in the southern border over health safety concerns.
United States President Joe Biden urged the Supreme Court to lift its ban on the removal of Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed officials to expel migrants over health concerns.
The policy, which was one of the most expensive immigration restrictions along the U.S.-Mexico border, continues to be in place as lawyers for the Biden administration, migrant rights activists, and Republican governors debate its continued use.
Plans to Lift Title 42 Restrictions
Lawyers for the American government acknowledged that the end of the restrictions will most likely lead to disruption and a temporary increase in unlawful border crossings. However, they added that the solution to the immigration problem cannot be to extend indefinitely a public health measure that has outlived its public health justification.
But lawyers have also asked the Supreme Court to keep Title 42 in place until after the Christmas holiday to give authorities enough time to prepare the necessary resources. Former President Donald Trump approved the restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic's peak to prevent the rapid spread of the virus, as per the New York Times.
However, advocates for asylum seekers sued the restriction, arguing that there was no longer a valid health reason for Title 42 to deny migrants their legal rights to ask for safe harbor in the United States.
The lawsuit was the beginning of a fierce legal battle that culminated last month in an order by a federal judge that blocked directing border officials to stop enforcing the policy. They were ordered to return to the regular process of deciding which migrants qualify for asylum.
According to USA Today, the situation comes as Biden also said that states have no business standing in the way of the decision to lift Title 42 restrictions. In a statement, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said that the states do not claim to be seeking to vindicate any interest in public health or slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Expelling Migrants in the Mexico Border
She noted that instead, state officials candidly acknowledge that they only wish to use the Title 42 orders as a make-shift immigration-control measure. Chief Justice John Roberts, in response to an appeal from 19 conservative states that want to continue the enforcement of Title 42, temporarily blocked Biden's plans to end the measure.
Roberts also asked the federal government to respond to the appeal, setting a deadline of Tuesday evening, which was hours before the program was set to expire. Now, a more lasting decision from the country's highest court is expected to come in the following days.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Monday after the court's order that any individuals who attempt to illegally enter the U.S. will be expelled to Mexico under Title 42.
The Biden administration is working to complete specific policy elements in a plan that would enact a new series of carrots and sticks to deter would-be asylum seekers from attempting to cross the border illegally.
One key deterrence measure would be an updated version of the policy known as the transit ban, which targets migrants who unlawfully cross the border and subjects them to quick deportation. To prevent this, they must pass a tougher initial asylum screening process, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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