For the time being, the Supreme Court has upheld pandemic-era asylum rules, dashed the aspirations of migrants escaping violence and inequality in Latin America and others to reach the United States.
The verdict on Tuesday retains a major Trump-era program that was set to expire on December 21 due to a judge’s order. The case will be heard in February, and the stay ordered by Chief Justice John Roberts last week will be in effect until the justices reach a judgment.
The limits, known as Title 42 in reference to a 1944 public health legislation, were placed in place at the start of the outbreak by then-President Donald Trump, but unraveling them has been a tortuous legal process.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempted to discontinue the program
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempted to discontinue the program in April 2022, but in May, a federal judge in Louisiana agreed with 19 Republican-led states to keep it in place. In November, another federal court in Washington ruled that Title 42 must be repealed, sending the case to the Supreme Court. Officials have ejected 2.5 million asylum seekers within the United States in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Immigration groups sued to terminate the policy, claiming it violates American and international duties to refugees escaping persecution in the United States. They’ve also claimed that the policy is becoming obsolete as coronavirus treatments improve.
The Biden administration retains extensive latitude in enforcing Title 42
The Biden administration retains extensive latitude in enforcing Title 42 as vigorously or leniently as it sees fit. For example, when a judge ruled last year that Trump’s “RemaininMexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, be reinstated, he did so in such a narrow extent that it had little impact. That policy was repealed in August after the administration won a Supreme Court victory.
The Biden administration’s application of Title 42 includes an oblique, befuddling patchwork of exemptions ostensibly for migrants judged most vulnerable in Mexico, such as those based on gender identity or sexual orientation, or who are explicitly threatened with violence. US Customs and Border Protection collaborates with partners it does not publicly identify, and it does not specify how many slots are made available to each.
Mexico is another unknown. The use of Title 42 to promptly deport migrants is heavily dependent on Mexico’s willingness to accept them. Currently, Mexico accepts expelled migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Venezuela, but not from other nations like as Cuba. Most asylum seekers who are unable to be moved to Mexico are not deported.
Next month, Biden will meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador in Mexico City.
Spagat wrote in from San Diego. Acacia Coronado of the Associated Press contributed reporting from Austin, Texas.
