Federal judge blocks Title 42 border policy, reopening access for asylum seekers

A federal judge struck down Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed U.S. authorities to expel over 1,000,000 migrants that crossed the southern border ostensibly to cease the spread of COVID-19, CNN reports.

Title 42 was enacted by the Trump administration at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the Biden administration has relied on it to address the growing number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum. Before Title 42, officials processed asylum seekers arrested at the border under immigration laws.

Washington, D.C. District Judge Emmet Sullivan found the policy “arbitrary and capricious,” violating federal laws. Sullivan sided with asylum seekers represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, deciding that government agencies failed to indicate how the rule benefited public health. He blamed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for “its decision to ignore the harm that would be caused” by the policy. He additionally noted officials failed to contemplate different options before issuing the order.

In response to the Tuesday court order, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security requested a stay on the ruling for 5 weeks, based on a court filing. In a statement released after the judge’s ruling, the DHS stated that if their request is granted, “the delay in implementation of the court’s order will allow the government to prepare for an orderly transition to new policies at the border.”