The United States Supreme Court has come to the rescue, at least for the time being. They have issued a stay on a lower court’s ruling to keep Title 42 in place just before it was to be lifted on Wednesday. The Biden Administration has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to respond to the Court’s decision.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts put a temporary hold on dissolving Title 42, and he is the one who asked for a response from President Biden by tomorrow.
There was a total of nineteen states led by Arizona and Louisiana that filed the emergency request after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week rejected their request to intervene in the case in a bid to prevent Title 42 from being wound down.
The brief order was signed by Chief Justice John Roberts and it effectively places a stay on the November 15, 2022 order that was issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
It stated, “UPON CONSIDERATION of the application of counsel for the applicants, IT IS ORDERED that the November 15, 2022 order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, case No. 1:21-cv-00100, is hereby stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court. It is further ordered that a response to the application be filed on or before Tuesday, December 20, 2022, by 5 p.m. (EST).”
Shannon Bream, a legal correspondent from Fox News, said that this decision from the High Court was purely administrative at this point and not given on the merits of the case.
Title 42 was instituted by the Trump administration as a public health order that has been in place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It allowed Border Patrol agents to expel illegal immigrants more quickly to prevent the transmission of the virus in holding facilities.
The Biden Administration was effectively prevented from removing Title 42 previous at the last minute in May of this year. The lawsuit then was brought by Republicans.
If Title 42 is allowed to be removed, it is estimated that there will be up to 18,000 illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border a day.
But immigration advocates whined that it violates people’s rights to claim asylum.
“Texas and other states are insisting that the Court leave Title 42 in place. Today’s order is a step in that direction. This helps prevent illegal immigration,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted in reaction to the news.
There are thousands of immigrants that have been amassing at the southern border and even more at the border between Mexico and Guatemala.
Oscar Leeser, the mayor of El Paso, said they’ve received information from Border Patrol and shelters just across the border in Mexico indicating that up to 20,000 migrants might be waiting to cross into El Paso. The Red Cross has brought 10,000 cots to help with the increase, he said.
On Saturday, Leeser declared a state of emergency as a way of freeing up extra funding to move migrants from city streets.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement, “Getting rid of Title 42 will recklessly and needlessly endanger more Americans and migrants by exacerbating the catastrophe that is occurring at our southern border.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed a motion earlier Monday asking to halt President Biden’s scrapping of Title 42, vowed to keep fighting for the policy to remain in place.
