The Government of Joe Biden has decided to appeal the decision of a federal judge to end Title 42, the controversial measure approved by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 to return the majority of asylum seekers at the border hiding behind the risk what the coronavirus pandemic entails.
Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered Biden in November to cancel that policy, although, at the government's request, he gave him five weeks, until December 21, to comply with his ruling.
The Justice Department's decision to appeal Sullivan's ruling now, advanced this Wednesday by the CNN news network, may lead another higher court to decide to suspend the end of Title 42, lengthening a legal battle in which several other parties also participate. republican states.
They criticize Biden because he went to Arizona but did not visit the border
Dec 6, 202201:48
Sullivan, a Washington, DC district judge, ruled on November 15 that Title 42 is "arbitrary and capricious" and "violates" federal law, and ordered the government effective immediately to end the policy.
He thus agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union, which alleged that Title 42 puts migrants in a dangerous situation on the other side of the border and violates US asylum law.
The Department of Homeland Security asked for a five-week extension “to prepare for the transition,” which the judge granted on November 16 “with great reluctance,” thus postponing the end of Title 42 until December 21.
At that time, the Government announced that it would not appeal the judicial decision.
Biden had already tried to actually end Title 42 in May, but was prevented from doing so by another federal judge, Robert Summerhays of the Lafayette, Louisiana judicial district, in response to a lawsuit filed by 15 red states.
They report that the Government considers new rules to limit asylum applications
Dec 2, 202202:29
On November 22, those same states (Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming) filed a motion with Judge Sullivan to maintain Title 42, arguing that the decision "may directly affect them" because the arrival of immigrants "will impose financial burdens on the states that involuntarily host."
Regardless of what the judge ultimately decides, the government's appeal and possible subsequent motions championed by Republicans may extend the life of Title 42, as other courts can freeze or strike down Sullivan's order, in a battle of months or years. It can end up in the Supreme Court.
They celebrate with shouts of joy the end of Title 42 in migrant camps: "Hopefully we can pass"
Nov 16, 202201:51
The Department of Homeland Security expected that the end of Title 42 could even double the arrival of immigrants at the border with Mexico, reaching a rate of between 9,000 and 14,000 a day, according to CNN.
Title 42 has allowed the government to return some 2.4 million asylum seekers since it went into effect, and authorities feared that its end could lead to an exodus of arrivals.
Around 6,000 to 7,000 migrants arrive at the border daily.
In total, almost 2.8 million migrants crossed the border in fiscal year 2022 (which ended in September), a number that broke the record reached in 2021 (more than one million), according to data from the Office of Customs and Border Protection.
In 2019, before Title 42, there were about 6,000 daily arrivals, according to CNN.
