The United States Supreme Court just took action to stop President Joe Biden from letting Title 42 expire. Title 42 is a public health order instituted by former President Donald Trump during March of 2020 to make deportations at the border easier and prevent hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants from seeking amnesty here.
The order, written by Chief Justice John Roberts in response to a petition from 19 states, temporarily blocks Title 42 from expiring on Wednesday the 21st and gives the Biden Administration until 5 pm on Tuesday, the 20th, to respond.
SCOTUSblog, adding more context to this case and what it is that the Supreme Court is considering now that it has paused the expiration of the policy, reported that:
Nineteen states came to the Supreme Court on Monday, asking the justices to keep in place a Trump-era policy that allows immigration officials to quickly expel migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border. The states, led by Arizona, warn the justices that if the court does not block a federal judge’s order that would end the policy on Wednesday, it will “cause a crisis of unprecedented proportions at the border.”
Continuing, SCOTUSblog went on to note that the states have claimed there could be dire consequences if the court doesn’t step in to pause or prevent the expiration of Title 42.
“Facing the termination of the policy on Wednesday under Sullivan’s order, the states asked the justices to step in on an emergency basis and block that order from taking effect, which would effectively keep the Title 42 policy in place while litigation continues. If Sullivan’s order is allowed to stand, they argued, it “will hamstring emergency action by CDC to prevent aliens with communicable diseases from entering the United States in the future.”
“More broadly, the states accused the Biden administration of using “collusive, underhanded litigation tactics” to achieve its goal of revoking the policy without complying with federal procedural laws. After Sullivan entered his order, they explained, the administration stopped defending the Title 42 policy, asking him only to delay the effective date of his order to give the government time to prepare for the transition.
“The states warned that if the Title 42 policy ends this week, the number of daily border crossings could triple. They noted that the Department of Homeland Security has asked for billions of dollars in emergency funds to deal with the expected increase in people crossing the border. The states, too, will have to shoulder increased costs, they wrote, for law enforcement, health care, and education for the influx of immigrants.”
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, writing in the filing about why a stay is appropriate here, said “Such a stay is particularly appropriate given the enormous harms that would otherwise be inflicted upon the States and further because there is not the slightest indication that DHS could ever meaningfully remedy those harms after they have occurred.”
Continuing, they added, “Indeed, there has already been a surge of migrants approaching the border in anticipation of the December 21 stay expiration, underscoring the States’ harms.”
It was after the states stepped in on Monday that Roberts issued his order, with SCOTUSblog reporting that “Shortly after the states filed their emergency request on Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts ordered the administration to file a response by Tuesday at 5 p.m. EST. Roberts also entered a so-called “administrative stay,” a procedural move that puts Sullivan’s order on hold while the justices consider the states’ request. The administrative stay means that the policy will not automatically terminate on Wednesday if the justices need more time to rule.”
Biden’s Department of Homeland Security said, following the SCOTUS decision, that Title 42 “will remain in effect at this time and individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico.”
Continuing, DHS went on to say that “While this stage of the litigation proceeds, we will continue our preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts. We urge Congress to use this time to provide the funds we have requested for border security and management and advance the comprehensive immigration measures President Biden proposed on his first day in office.”
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