A court has put the brakes on the Joe Biden administration’s attempts to repeal the previous administration’s COVID-19-related entry restrictions, which allowed the immediate deportation of illegal entrants from the border.
According to Reuters, Judge Robert Summerhays of the Western Federal Court of Louisiana decided on the 20th to maintain the so-called ’42’ (Title 42), saying, “Maintaining the provision is in the public interest.”
Article 42 is to deport illegal entrants who have crossed the land border as soon as they are caught and prevent them from giving them an opportunity to seek asylum. It was introduced by the former Donald Trump administration, which had advocated hardline measures against immigrants.
During the Trump administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented this policy, saying it should contain the spread of COVID-19 in densely-dense border facilities. According to the Associated Press, the number of illegal immigrants who did not get an opportunity to apply for asylum and were immediately deported under this provision after enforcement has reached 1.9 million so far, the Associated Press reported.
The Joe Biden administration, which has a relatively accommodative immigration policy, announced on the 23rd of this month that it would repeal this provision for reasons such as improving the human rights of immigrants. The CDC was also of the opinion that Article 42 was no longer necessary for the quarantine policy, saying that other prevention measures such as vaccines have increased. Medical professionals and the United Nations also welcomed the repeal of Article 42, saying that it could put the already vulnerable immigrants at greater risk.
However, the repeal of Article 42 was criticized not only by the conservative Republican Party, but also by some Democrats, who belong to President Biden, as encouraging a surge in the number of immigrants.
Twenty-two states, led by the Republican Attorney General, have even sued the Biden administration to keep the provision.
Judge Summerhays’ decision on that day is to the effect that the provision should be maintained until the final result of the lawsuit is out. Judge Summerhays was appointed by former President Trump. The Biden administration immediately announced an appeal.