UPDATE: A Lafayette federal judge has granted a motion by Republican state Attorneys General to halt the CDC's lifting of Title 42.
Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed the U.S. to expedite deportations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, expires on Monday.
After a hearing last week, U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhayes, a long-time bankruptcy judge who was appointed to the district bench by former President Trump, granted a preliminary injunction that prevents the CDC from lifting the policy.
See the document:
With the provision’s expiration, the Department of Homeland Security said more migrants could enter the U.S. in an attempt to seek asylum or provide other legal reasons for entering the country. U.S. law allows migrants to seek asylum if they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion.
But processing those claims can take time, causing some to expect that immigration officials will be overwhelmed with handling requests.
A number of Republicans, and some Democrats, have called on the Biden administration to push back the elimination of Title 42. To date, the Biden administration has held firm with lifting the provision next week.
DHS said it is deploying additional resources to the border to handle a potential influx of migrants seeking to enter the U.S.
“Violence, food insecurity, poverty, and lack of economic opportunity in several countries in the Western Hemisphere are driving unprecedented levels of migration to our Southwest Border,” DHS said. “The devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region has only exacerbated these challenges. Human smuggling organizations peddle misinformation that the border is open. DHS is implementing a comprehensive strategy to address a potential increase in the number of border encounters.”
