TRO Blocks (For Now) Biden Attempt to End Title 42 Order

The Biden administration’s attempt to phase out the Trump administration’s Title 42 expulsion order has proven to be incredibly  controversial.  It is part of larger set of questions surrounding the ability of President Biden to roll back President Trump’s immigration policies, including the rescission of the “Remain in Mexico” policy argued yesterday in the Supreme Court.  Just as Donald Trump ran for office on a tough on immigration platform, Joe Biden campaigned on a more moderate approach to immigration.

BuzzFeed News (Adolfpo Flores & Hamed Aleaziz) reports that a federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from ending President Trump’s use of Title 42 to quickly expel immigrants from the country.  The temporary restraining order, which stops the administration from implementing a gradual ending of the policy known as Title 42, was issued by U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana.  President Trump appointed Judge Summerhays. The court will hold a hearing on a preliminary injunction on May 13.

There appears to be substantial political support for the Title 42 expulsion order even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined that it no longer is necessary to protect the public health.  Thus, although the original order was justified on public health grounds, many want to keep it in place as a tool of border control.  The push to maintain the Title 42 expulsion order has increased with fears of a border “surge” with its lifting, which provoked the Department of Homeland Security to release a “DHS Plan for Southwest Border Security and Preparedness.”    In hearings before Congress this week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was grilled on border security, Title 42, and immigration control generally.

KJ