By Julia Ainsley - NBC News
Several immigrant rights groups have asked a federal judge to order Joe Biden's government to lift COVID-19 restrictions at the border, which continue to prevent some undocumented immigrants from entering the United States to request asylum, according to documents. judicial presented on Monday.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Texas Civil Rights Project, Oxfam, RAICES, and other organizations had been negotiating out of court to end this policy, known as Title 42. Now they have gone to court again to request a preliminary injunction.
However, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, announced this Monday that they
will keep this measure in force indefinitely
, two weeks after they decided to extend it at least another three months, when it would be reviewed again. .
The government has gradually allowed the entry of more families of undocumented immigrants, even without officially ending the policy.
On Friday, for example,
the Border Patrol detained 2,281 migrants traveling as part of families and only 142 were expelled to Mexico under Title 42
, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data obtained by NBC. News.
["That they think very well": the message of a Honduran mother to compatriots who intend to make the journey to the United States]
Deported immigrants arrive in Guatemala City in September 2017. Getty Images
In the case of migrants traveling alone, 1,782 of the 2,570 were expelled, according to the data.
Children traveling without their parents have not been subject to Title 42 since Biden arrived at the White House
.
Still, activists said they want the policy to be lifted for good.
"After the Administration has been upholding the Trump Administration's patently illegal and inhumane Title 42 policy for 7 months, we really had no choice but to go back to court and request an immediate injunction," said Lee Gelernt, lead attorney. of the ACLU lawsuit.
ICE will process migrant families who remain in overcrowded Border Patrol centers
Aug. 1, 202100: 26
The Justice Department, which represents the government in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to questions from NBC News, the sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
Immigrant advocates argue in the lawsuit that the government is upholding Title 42 not to stop the spread of the coronavirus, as it publicly claims, but as
a legal tool to prevent more undocumented people from crossing the border
.
[The Biden Administration started the first flights with deportees expressly to Central America]
"The Biden Administration knows very well that maintaining Title 42 will not stop the spread of COVID-19, nor will it prevent people who are literally fleeing for their lives from seeking safety in the United States. The Government is choosing to treat refugees like pawns. politicians and that is why we are eager to go back to court so that we can end Title 42 for families once and for all, "said Noah Gottschalk, Oxfam America's global policy leader.
NBC News previously reported that Administration officials have internally voiced their fears that the lifting of Title 42 will incentivize more migrants to come to the country and lead to increased trafficking at the border, which could collapse the immigration system.
What is happening to migrant families crammed into Border Patrol centers?
Aug. 1, 202102: 12
The number of undocumented immigrants detained by border agents in June surpassed that of the past 21 years, according to CBP data.
Because most of the families who have recently crossed the border have not been subject to Title 42, the agency is experiencing severe overcrowding in its processing facilities and is turning to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to process the migrant families in ICE detention centers.