Federal judge orders US to keep in place Title 42 immigrant ousters tied to pandemic
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A federal judge in Louisiana on Friday ordered the Biden administration to keep in place a Trump administration order that required immigrants seeking asylum to be quickly turned back.
U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana issued a nationwide injunction that keeps the expulsion policy in place during litigation, report Bloomberg Law, Law360, the Associated Press and Reuters.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had cited COVID-19-related concerns when it adopted the expulsion policy under the Public Health Services Act at Title 42 of the U.S. Code. The law allows the CDC to ban immigrants from entering the United States if needed to help prevent the spread of disease, according to the Pew Research Center.
Summerhays ruled in a suit brought by 24 states.
Summerhays said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the Biden administration didn’t allow for notice and comment before seeking to end the Title 42 expulsions. He also said the states had shown that they would suffer financial harm if the expulsion order is lifted.
The U.S. Department of Justice is planning to appeal. The case is Louisiana v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a separate case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices will decide whether the Biden administration may end former President Donald Trump’s policy requiring asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are pending.
