U.S. Supreme Court’s Roberts Temporarily Blocks End to Title 42

On Monday, Chief U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts granted a temporary injunction requested by Republican officials in 19 states, preventing the Biden administration from ending its policy of rapidly expelling migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The policy, known as Title 42, was set to expire on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

The request for the injunction was made by the attorneys general of Arizona and Louisiana, following a ruling by a federal appeals court on Friday that declined to put on hold a judge’s decision from last month that invalidated the emergency order.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has argued that eliminating Title 42, a measure used to expel certain migrants at the southern border, would “recklessly and needlessly endanger more Americans and migrants by exacerbating the catastrophe that is occurring at our southern border.”

In a statement, Brnovich explained that the number of unlawful crossings could “surge from 7,000 per day to as many as 18,000” without Title 42.

As a solution, Brnovich has proposed that the lower court’s ruling on the matter be put on hold and that a temporary injunction be granted to maintain the current status. He also suggested that the Supreme Court consider skipping the appeals process and hearing arguments on the issue directly.

Brnovich emphasized the potential for “massive irreparable harms” on the states if a stay is not granted, as they often bear the consequences of illegal immigration. “Failure to grant a stay here will inflict massive irreparable harms on the States, particularly as the States bear many of the consequences of unlawful immigration,” Brnovich argued.

Others are skeptical Title 42 is even “effective.”

“This is a longstanding problem, more people are fleeing persecution, gang violence, failed states and climate change than ever before,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr of Cornell Law School. “Even without Title 42, we would have more people than ever before trying to enter the United States,” he added. “Title 42 is not an effective way to manage our borders, instead, we need to both enact immigration reform in the United States and work with other countries so that people don’t feel so desperate to leave in the first place.”

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