Supreme Court grants temporary stay of Title 42 [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Several border states made an emergency request to keep Title 42 in place after an appeals court denied their plea.
• Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay, but it’s unclear how long it will last.
• The DHS called on Congress to provide them with the requested funds and fast-track comprehensive immigration measures in the meantime.

Border states have been dreading a bigger crisis ahead of the impending expiry of Title 42 on Dec. 21. The policy, which was launched to prevent the spread of COVID-19, allows authorities to quickly expel migrants at the border before they get the chance to seek asylum. On Monday, that termination was temporarily halted by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

The administrative stay was put in place after an emergency request from a coalition of Republican-led states, pending a decision on whether the high court will take up the case. Last week, the states’ bid to retain the policy was denied by an appeals court.

The procedural decision doesn’t detail the duration of the stay and how the court will ultimately decide.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) celebrated the order as a step toward leaving Title 42 in place, which “helps prevent illegal immigration.”

On Monday evening, the Department of Homeland Security honored the order and announced that Title 42 would remain in effect. The DHS said that it will continue to prepare for when the policy is lifted by managing the border “in a safe, orderly, and humane way” during the litigation process.

The DHS called on Congress to take advantage of the added 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.”

The policy has been criticized by immigration advocates who believe that it unfairly denies migrants the right to seek asylum, which is listed under the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They argued that Republicans are using the policy underhandedly to crack down on immigration.

Meanwhile, Republicans and leaders of border states have pointed to the crisis brought on by record surges in migrant crossings. GOP-led states argued in a court filing that the upcoming expiry of Title 42 would cause “irreparable harm.”

If the legal disputes are brought before the Supreme Court, Title 42 could remain in effect for months.

Source: Axios