On Monday, a federal judge issued a preliminary temporary restraining order (TRO) halting President Biden's plans to end the CDC's pandemic border order, Title 42. Judge Robert R. Summerhays, a Trump-appointed judge in Louisiana, stated that final details of the TRO are still in the works noting that he sent both the Biden Admin. and suing states back to the drawing board to iron them out.
The lawsuit, which asked the court to stop Biden from lifting Title 42, was initially brought to the District Court by the states of Louisiana, Arizona, and Missouri; once there, it quickly garnered more support from other states ending up as a joint effort by more than twenty states.
Title 42 was created by the Trump Admin. In 2020 and allowed U.S. immigration authorities to immediately expel illegal aliens encountered at the southern border due to the increased risk of spreading the coronavirus. Since its creation, nearly 2 million alien expulsions have occurred under the order.
However, the Biden Admin. had planned on lifting Title 42 on May 23, 2022. Upon news of that decision, politicians, journalists, and experts alike began to ring alarms about the inevitable tsunami of migrants that would consequently rush the border, knowing they would not immediately be turned back. Projections estimated up to half a million migrants attempting to cross the border per month without Title 42.
President Biden's decision even faced immense pushback from more vulnerable members of his party, with many House and Senate Democrats voicing their concerns over the consequences of lifting Title 42.
CNN reported on some of the Senate Democrats who have come out against Biden's decision to lift the public health order at the border:
Some Democrats up for reelection this year, such as Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, have faced condemnation from the left for criticizing Biden's move to roll back Title 42.
Kelly and New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, who both visited the US-Mexico border earlier this month, signed on to a Republican-backed bill that would delay the rollback.
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who has also urged Biden to reconsider his plans, has faced criticism from Republicans for signing a June 2020 letter that urged Trump to back off what the letter called a "CDC asylum ban."
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who chairs Senate Democrats' campaign arm, said this week that the Biden administration might need to delay the rollback of Title 42 until a clearer plan to mitigate the flow of migrants at the southern border is in place.
"But Hispanic lawmakers, in a meeting with Mr. Biden just before the judge's ruling Monday, told the president they would tolerate no delay, saying his moral leadership was at stake," reports The Washington Times.
Under the Trump Admin. approximately 85% of migrants caught at the border were immediately expelled under Title 42 from March-December 2020 when agents averaged less than 48,000 apprehensions per month. Under the Biden Admin. those Title 42 expulsions have dropped to approximately 56% of all migrants caught illegally crossing the southern border. During President Biden's term so far, agents average nearly 168,000 alien apprehensions per month at the border.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said the Department of Homeland Security had already begun to curtail the use of Title 42 in recent weeks. Brnovich demanded:
The Biden administration cannot continue in flagrant disregard for existing laws and required administrative procedures.
