The US Government will continue to expel most of the people who arrive at the border based on Title 42, a health regulation approved by the previous Donald Trump Administration due to the pandemic. The Supreme Court has ruled to maintain the regulations after, initially, it already provisionally suspended its lifting scheduled for December 21.
“The border is not open and we will continue to apply our laws,” wrote the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a statement, after learning of Tuesday the Supreme Court order that leaves hundreds of migrants waiting in Mexico in limbo to request asylum in the US. At the border, hundreds of immigrants who were waiting for this resolution crowded together.
The Supreme Court, in a decision made with the vote of five judges in favor of four against, agreed to the request of prosecutors from 19 states to freeze the suspension of Title 42 while the future of this rule is resolved in court. In the statement, the Department of Security assured that it “will continue to administer the border” but asks Congress to approve a reform to the immigration system.
For his part, when asked about the Supreme Court’s decision, President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House that his government will continue to apply Title 42, although the time to revoke it has passed. “The court will not decide on the matter until June, apparently, and in the meantime we must enforce the law, but its deadline is over,” the president said before leaving for the Virgin Islands, where he will celebrate the New Year with his family.
Criticism from human rights defenders
The regulation, imposed by the government of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) with the excuse of the pandemic, is maintained indefinitely, at least until after the Supreme Court hears the arguments of the parties in its hearing period, and that won’t be until February of next year. The high court will have to make a decision later, once the case has been studied, and it is unknown how long it may take to do so.
Human rights organizations also criticized on Tuesday the decision of the Supreme Court to maintain Title 42, pointing out that it prohibits the right to asylum. “The Supreme Court’s decision will have deadly consequences for people fleeing persecution,” Melissa Crow, an attorney with the California-based Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of Hastings, said in a statement.
The International Rescue Coommittee (IRC) organization also regretted the court’s order, noting that upholding Title 42 “denies the legal right of asylum seekers to seek protection in the US.” A group of prosecutors from 19 states, including Texas, were the ones that caused the Supreme Court to rule. They alleged that the suspension would cause “massive and irreparable damage” in immigration matters.
A federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled in mid-November ordering the suspension of Title 42, a decision that was appealed by prosecutors from 19 states and by the Biden government. The states argue that they face an immigration crisis if Title 42 is suspended and that the government has not taken adequate measures to deal with the situation.
