Topline
A federal judge on Friday afternoon blocked the Biden Administration from letting the controversial Title 42 migrant policy expire on Monday as planned, amid concerns it would accelerate a growing surge of illegal border crossings into the United States.
Members of a caravan of Central Americans who spent weeks traveling across Mexico walk from Mexico … [+]
Key Facts
Trump-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Robert Summerhays granted an injunction keeping the administration from lifting Title 42 as 24 states sue the administration over plans to rescind the policy.
The Trump Administration put Title 42 in place during March 2020, blocking asylum-seekers from staying in the U.S., citing concerns about the spread of Covid-19.
Critics have decried the policy as a blatant attempt to keep migrants from entering the United States, claiming the public health concerns are not genuine.
The 24 largely red states argued allowing the order to expire would lead to increased security and health risks due to a “surge of border crossings.”
Crucial Quote
“The record reflects that—based on the government’s own predictions—that the Termination Order will result in an increase in daily border crossings and that this increase could be as large as a three-fold increase to 18,000 daily border crossings,” Summerhays wrote.
Key Background
The Biden Administration has long stood by a commitment to end Title 42, even as court challenges stymie the effort and some moderate Democrats question plans to lift the policy during an already historic surge in migrant crossings. According to Border Patrol statistics, over 230,000 migrant arrests were made along the U.S.-Mexico border in April, more than 13 times the 17,106 arrests made during April 2020. Border crossings have increased since the start of the pandemic but started skyrocketing shortly after President Joe Biden took office last year.
Further Reading
Judge Will Temporarily Block Biden From Ending Title 42 Border Restrictions (Forbes)
More Democrats Criticize Biden For Plan To End Trump-Era Border Restrictions (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/05/20/judge-blocks-biden-administration-from-ending-title-42-migrant-policy/