Joe Biden has been blocked by a federal judge from stopping the Trump-era Title 42 migrant deportation policy over fears it’s already being ignored and causing a spike in border crossings.
That was decided by US District Judge Robert Summerhays of Lafayette, Louisiana on Wednesday.
It prohibits the Biden administration from beginning winding up Title 42 before its scheduled May 23 completion, but does not prevent the policy from being scrapped on that date.
Summerhays – a Trump appointee – is now set to hold a second hearing, which could stop Biden from stopping politics as well.
“States have identified a significant threat of immediate and irreparable violations resulting from the early implementation of Title 42, including non-recoverable costs of health care, law enforcement, detention, education and other services to migrants,” he wrote.
“States have identified a significant threat of imminent and irreparable violations resulting from the early implementation of Title 42, including non-recoverable costs of health care, law enforcement, detention, education and other services to migrants,” wrote the Trump-appointed US – District Judge Robert Summerhays in Lafayette, Louisiana
Summerhays said states are likely to succeed in their argument that the government failed to follow federal procedures when it announced on April 1 that it was ending Title 42 authority.
For the time being, the decision is only a temporary setback for the administration.
But the judge has staked out a position very sympathetic to Louisiana, Arizona and 19 other states that have sued to maintain the so-called Title 42 agency that denies migrants the chance to seek asylum to help stem the spread of COVID-19 to prevent.
The judge has scheduled a critical hearing for May 13 in Lafayette to hear arguments on whether to prevent Title 42 from ending 10 days later as planned.
Texas filed a similar lawsuit in federal court in Victoria, Texas on Friday.
The decision to end the authority of Title 42 was made by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It has come under increasing criticism from elected officials in Biden’s Democratic Party, who claim the government is unprepared for an expected surge in asylum seekers.
Some estimates say the number of crossers could more than double to about 500,000 each month.
Wednesday’s ruling is a setback for Biden, who called Trump-era politics “cruel.”
A migrant waits on the Mexico side of the border after United States Customs and Border Protection officers detained a few migrants crossing the US-Mexico border on the beach
The Justice Department declined to comment on the order, but the administration has said it will comply while claiming it will hamper preparations for Title 42 to end on May 23.
About 14% of single adults from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were treated under immigration laws during a seven-day period that ended last Thursday. That’s up from just 5% in March, according to the government.
Summerhays’ order requires the Homeland Security Department to “revert to current policies and practices” before announcing plans to end Title 42 and provide weekly reports showing it is acting “in good faith.”
Migrants have been deported more than 1.8 million times under the rule invoked by the Trump administration in March 2020.
Migrants were stopped at the Mexican border more than 221,000 times in March, a 22-year high raising concerns about the government’s ability to handle even larger numbers if Title 42 is lifted.
Advocates for asylum seekers say the restrictions endanger people fleeing persecution at home and violate the right to seek protection under US law and international treaties.
Refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine wait in Tijuana for their applications to be processed
As the CDC acknowledged, the public health justification for the order has weakened as the threat of COVID-19 has receded.
At two often-controversial hearings on Wednesday, Homeland Security minister Alejandro Mayorkas tried to defend the government’s handling of a surge in migrants at the Southwest border and its plans to deal with the prospect of more migrants with the possible end of Title 42.
Mayorkas sought to dismiss Republican accusations that the Biden administration encouraged irregular migration by allowing some people to seek asylum, blaming economic and political turmoil and violence across Latin America and the world.
“Some of the causes of irregular migration have only been compounded by the years of hardship before this government,” he said.
Mayorkas testified a day after Homeland Security released a plan with more details on how it is preparing for the end of Title 42 authority.
According to a CBP report released Monday, 73,495 unaccompanied children have been encountered at the southwest border since Oct. 1, 2021 — the start of fiscal year 2022.
The totals are on track to meet the 146,925 bans on unaccompanied minors in fiscal 2021.
During the six-month period of the current fiscal year, Sector Rio Grande Valley agents stopped 38,169 who crossed the border illegally without a parent or legal guardian. In comparison, the industry recorded 76,284 such encounters throughout fiscal 2021.
Overall, CBP reported a 33 percent increase in encounters with undocumented migrants along the southern border in March.
US Border Patrol agents reported 221,803 bans last month, after registering 164,973 in February.
The March totals also marked the highest number of encounters under President Joe Biden’s administration since July 2021, when 213,593 bans were imposed.
