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The U.S. Supreme Court left in place for now a pandemic-era policy allowing U.S. officials to rapidly expel migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border
![The U.S. Supreme Court left in place for now a pandemic-era policy allowing U.S. officials to rapidly expel migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border]()
The US Supreme Court has voted to keep in place a controversial Trump-era The U.S. Supreme Court left in place for now a pandemic-era policy allowing U.S. officials to rapidly expel migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border
In a 5-4 vote, the court granted a request by Republican state attorneys general to put on hold a judge's decision invalidating the emergency public health order known as Title 42.
The US Supreme Court has voted to keep in place a controversial Trump-era policy that blocked thousands of people from crossing the US-Mexico border.
Title 42 gives the government power to automatically expel undocumented migrants seeking entry.
The potential lifting of the policy had prompted concerns that the number of migrants at the border would rise.
The Biden administration said it would comply with the ruling but called for reform of immigration policy.
"We are advancing our preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 eventually lifts and will continue expanding legal pathways for immigration," it said in a statement.
Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator for Louisiana, said removing Title 42 "would have made our border crisis worse, and the White House seemed willing to let that happen."
"Glad to see the Supreme Court step in to preserve it, but we need a permanent solution," he said on Twitter.
Miguel Colmenares, a Venezuelan migrant in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, said: "It breaks my heart that we have to keep waiting."
"I don't know what I'm going to do, I haven't got any money and my family's waiting for me," the 27-year-old told Reuters news agency.
The Title 42 policy - applied about 2.5 million times since March 2020 - was originally due to expire on 21 December but, two days before the deadline, Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts blocked its termination.
The court's decision was in response to an emergency appeal from some Republican-led states who had asked for the policy to remain in place.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to extend the temporary stay ordered by Justice Roberts while the case moved forward.
Additionally, the nine Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments on whether the states can intervene in defense of the policy.
Arguments are likely to take place in February or March 2023. A decision is due by the end of June.
The decision will be a blow to immigration activists, who had sued to end Title 42, arguing it was contrary to international obligations to give people asylum.
Proponents of Title 42 and officials in many border communities, however, argued that lifting the policy would lead to an increase in arrivals at the border, putting a strain on resources.
