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The Biden administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to deny a GOP bid to keep Title 42 in place, but if the court rules in its favor they want it to keep the stay in place for a few days to ensure an ‘orderly transition.’
In a court filing, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar admitted that the end of the pandemic-era immigration restriction would lead to a ‘temporary increase in border crossings,’ it said the public health basis for the policy is ‘obsolete.’
Still she asked the court to keep the stay in place until December 27 to ‘allow the government to again prepare for a full return to operations.’
In the filing the Biden administration teased ‘new policies’ to bolster immigration enforcement under Title 8, instead of relying on the CDC provision that it says has ‘outlived its public health justification.’
In response to an appeal from 19 GOP-led states that want to keep Title 42 in place, Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked the Biden administration from carrying out its plans to end the policy Wednesday at midnight.
Prelogar said the GOP states “do not claim to be seeking to vindicate any interest in public health or slowing the spread of COVID-19.’
‘Instead, they candidly acknowledge that they wish to use the Title 42 orders as a make-shift immigration-control measure,’ she added.
Roberts had given the Biden administration until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to respond and the court filing was made public moments later.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees all border and immigration operations, responded to the order by insisting that Title 42 will remain in effect during the time outlined by the Supreme Court and ‘individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico.’
The agency noted that it will continue ‘preparation to manage the border’ once the public health order is lifted and ‘urged Congress to use this time to provide the funds we have requested for border security and management.’
The Supreme Court ordered a 24-hour stay on the end of Title 42, giving President Joe Biden’s administration 24 hours to respond. Pictured: Migrants continue to cross in massive groups into the U.S. at the crossing point in El Paso, Texas
Many migrants are camping outside on the Mexico side of the border and waiting until Title 42 ends on Wednesday, December 21 to cross the Rio Grande River. Temperatures at the border between Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and El Paso are reaching sub-freezing levels and migrants are creating bon fires to stay warm as they camp out over night
Title 42, invoked by Donald Trump at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, allows border and immigration enforcement officials to force new migrants to turn back after illegally crossing into the U.S. without carrying out the usual asylum procedures.
Used for the first time since 1929, Trump said invoking Title 42 was meant to stop the spread of COVID from coming over the southern border – but an additional benefit for border communities is that it also served to decrease the numbers of people attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally over the last nearly three years.
The Biden administration has for 10 months been trying to lift Title 42, but has been repeatedly blocked by the courts.
On Monday, Chief Justice Roberts again stopped the rescinding of the policy, which had been due to end shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
Roberts, responding to a Republican request for the law to remain in place, said more time was needed, and gave the Biden administration just one day to file their response.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice John Roberts ordered the stay on Title 42
‘We just filed an emergency stay application, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to keep Title 42 in place,’ said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
‘Getting rid of Title 42 will recklessly endanger more Americans & migrants by exacerbating the catastrophe that is occurring at our border.’
The Biden administration, which argues that the law should not be in place permanently, instead of seeking lasting solutions, has long tried to lift the rule.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on April 1 announced that the law would be repealed on May 23, but a Louisiana court blocked the repeal.
Thousands of migrants are crossing the Rio Grande River every day to turn themselves into Border Patrol agents and claim asylum in the U.S.
The order notes that Title 42 is stayed for the next day as the Court weighs a GOP bid for a longer pause on ending the policy
In November, a judge in Washington DC overturned the Louisiana decision, saying that Title 42 was ‘arbitrary and capricious’ and should not remain in place.
DHS requested five weeks ‘to prepare to transition’ to processing all migrants under pre-COVID policies, which would mean allowing them to cross the southern border to claim asylum.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan granted the request with ‘great reluctance,’ and Title 42 was set to come to an end on Tuesday, taking effect at midnight on Wednesday, December 21.
The White House insisted earlier on Monday that the repeal of Title 42 was proceeding as planned.
‘We remained under a court order to lift Title 42,’ said Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
‘That is a court order telling us to lift Title 42,’ she added. ‘And we’re going to comply because we follow the rule of law.’
Yet the demand from Republicans that it remain in place was growing.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich was among those who filed an emergency stay requesting the Supreme Court keep Title 42 in place passed the expiration on Wednesday
North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer issued a statement pointing to fentanyl seizures at the border as a reason to keep Title 42 in place and praising the Supreme Court decision to put a stay on ending the policy.
‘Title 42 is only as effective as the Administration wants it to be, which based on Joe Biden’s track record isn’t much,’ the Republican senator said in his statement.
He added that issues will only increase ‘until the White House starts taking the border crisis seriously and enacts policies to protect our borders.’
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