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The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its highly-anticipated ruling on Tuesday on whether to keep in place the border policy known as title 42 as the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border worsens by the day.
The nation’s highest court ruled to keep the Trump-era rule in place for now, while other legal challenges to the policy play out in other courts, Axios reported Tuesday.
“The expected Dec. 21 expiration of the policy — which has cited the pandemic to allow border officials to rapidly expel migrants and asylum seekers at the border for more than 2.5 years — was delayed after the Supreme Court intervened at the request of Republican challengers,” the outlet reported. “The Supreme Court approved a last-minute effort by 19 GOP-led states to block the termination of Title 42.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Marsha (Catron) Espinosa said the department will enforce the policy.
“As required by today’s Supreme Court order, the Title 42 public health order will remain in effect, and individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico or their home country,” she tweeted. “People should not listen to the lies of smugglers who take advantage of vulnerable migrants, putting lives at risk. The border is not open, and we will continue to fully enforce our immigration laws.”
As required by today’s Supreme Court order, the Title 42 public health order will remain in effect and individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico or their home country.
— Marsha (Catron) Espinosa (@MCatronDHS) December 27, 2022
We will continue to manage the border, but we do so within the constraints of a decades-old immigration system that everyone agrees is broken. We need Congress to pass the comprehensive immigration reform legislation President Biden proposed the day he took office.
— Marsha (Catron) Espinosa (@MCatronDHS) December 27, 2022
Many Republicans praised the “huge ruling” on Twitter.
Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee tweeted that the ruling will deter future border crossings.
“SCOTUS’s temporary stay of Title 42 protections will forestall a surge of trafficking and drugs. Lives will be saved. Yet as Democrats recently rejected my effort to remedy this situation legislatively, it falls to @POTUS to enforce the laws currently on the books,” he tweeted.
“Today, SCOTUS handed Texas and the USA a huge victory by allowing Title 42 to remain in place after Biden illegally tried to terminate this critical policy,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, R., tweeted. “I will continue to fight at every turn and do everything in my power to help secure our border and keep Texans safe.”
Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin praised the ruling and demanded further action.
“Today’s Title 42 stay from the Supreme Court is much needed but the Biden administration must do more to secure our southern border,” he tweeted. “Too many lives are ruined as a result of the fentanyl crisis, enabled by the open border, and we need action now.”
Today’s Title 42 stay from the Supreme Court is much needed but the Biden administration must do more to secure our southern border. Too many lives are ruined as a result of the fentanyl crisis, enabled by the open border, and we need action now.
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) December 27, 2022
“I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to maintain Title 42, but the status quo is unsustainable,” Rep.-elect Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas., tweeted, “We need a long-term solution to our border crisis that protects American communities, holds the cartels accountable and restores order to the border.”
I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to maintain Title 42, but the status quo is unsustainable.
We need a long-term solution to our border crisis that protects American communities, holds the cartels accountable, and restores order to the border. https://t.co/LxvGXcfHIE
— Monica De La Cruz (@monica4congress) December 27, 2022
The American Civil Liberties Union condemned the ruling.
“The Supreme Court has allowed Title 42, which was set to end this month, to remain in place temporarily while litigation continues,” the organization’s official Twitter wrote. “This decision allows our government to continue unlawfully expelling people seeking asylum. This cruel policy must end.”
BREAKING: The Supreme Court has allowed Title 42, which was set to end this month, to remain in place temporarily while litigation continues.
This decision allows our government to continue unlawfully expelling people seeking asylum. This cruel policy must end.
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 27, 2022
Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked an order that would lift pandemic-era restrictions on asylum seekers.
Title 42 is a law giving the federal government the power to shut down the border as an emergency action. It was put in place under then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 and has prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S.
The rule was set to expire before the Supreme Court stepped in as thousands more migrants are packed in shelters on Mexico’s border with the U.S.
Trump used Title 42 in 2020 when the COVID pandemic broke out worldwide. Since it was enacted, over two million migrants have been expelled. President Joe Biden also left the rule in place.
