U.S. Supreme Court temporarily freezes Title 42 as Texas, conservative states seek delay

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is temporarily blocking an order that would lift pandemic-era restrictions on asylum seekers. But it is leaving open the prospect of lifting the restrictions by Wednesday.

The order Monday by Chief Justice John Roberts comes as conservative states are pushing to keep limits on asylum seekers that were put in place during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. They are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort before the limits are set to expire.

In the one-page order, Roberts granted a stay pending further order and asked the government to respond by 5 p.m. Tuesday. That is just hours before the restrictions are slated to expire on Wednesday.

The order by Roberts means the high-profile case that has drawn intense scrutiny will go down to the wire.

The immigration restrictions, often referred to as Title 42, were put in place under then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 and have prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. in recent years. But as they’re set to expire, thousands more migrants are packed in shelters on Mexico’s border with the U.S.

Immigration advocates sued to stop the use of Title 42 to limit who can apply for asylum, saying that the policy goes against American and international obligations to people fleeing to the U.S. to escape persecution. And they’ve argued that things like vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus have made the policy outdated.

Conservative-leaning states have argued that lifting of Title 42 will lead to a surge of migrants into their states and take a toll on government services like health care or law enforcement. They also charge that the federal government has no plan to deal with an increase in migrants.

The Department of Homeland Security responded with a prepared statement, saying the order will stay in force for now.

“As required by the Supreme Court’s administrative stay order, the Title 42 public health order will remain in effect at this time and individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico,” DHS said in the statement. “While this stage of the litigation proceeds, we will continue our preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts. We urge Congress to use this time to provide the funds we have requested for border security and management and advance the comprehensive immigration measures President Biden proposed on his first day in office.”

With a Republican-controlled House set to take charge in early January, the imminent lifting of the pandemic-era restrictions has become a hot-button political issue.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected efforts by 19 conservative-leaning states late Friday to intervene in the case, saying they’d waited too long, leading the states to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott applauded the move to put the change on hold, saying on Twitter that the states involved “are insisting that the Court leave Title 42 in place. Today’s order is a step in that direction. This helps prevent illegal immigration.”

Texas Republican U.S. Rep. August Pfluger of San Angelo also praised Roberts’ action on Twitter, writing that it’s “great news for border states and our country.”

Texas is among the conservative states pushing to keep limits on asylum-seekers put in place during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic that were appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort before the limits expire.

The nineteen states Monday asked the court for an emergency stay that would keep Title 42 in place.

“This Court’s review is warranted given the enormous national importance of this case. It is not reasonably contestable that the failure to grant a stay will cause an unprecedented calamity at the southern border,” the states wrote in their request.

“Getting rid of Title 42 will recklessly and needlessly endanger more Americans and migrants by exacerbating the catastrophe that is occurring at our southern border,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement, NBC News reported.