Title 42 ruling in US leaves vulnerable migrants in limbo, NGOs say

A district court judge Friday ruled that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration cannot lift Title 42, the obscure public health provision that is being used to turn away migrants and asylum-seekers at the country’s border — a move likely to be appealed by the Justice Department.

The measure, intended to protect public health from the spread of infectious disease, was invoked by former President Donald Trump in 2020 and allows for the immediate expulsion of anyone found to have entered the country unlawfully, without giving them an opportunity to file an asylum claim.

Judge Robert R. Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, who was appointed by Trump, issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that requires the administration to continue enforcing Title 42.

The case was brought by Republican-led states, which argued the Biden administration was not prepared for the potential influx of people who would seek to cross the border. The provision was scheduled to be lifted Monday.

NGO reaction: “We are extremely disappointed and concerned that Title 42 will remain in effect at the border following today’s court injunction,” said Olga Byrne, director of asylum and immigration legal services at the International Rescue Committee, in a statement.

“The court order does not account for the real human impact of people returned to danger, nor the cumulative costs of maintaining a system that violates rights, separates families, fuels exploitation, and denies asylum seekers their dignity and humanity.”

Large NGOs such as IRC had been preparing for a potential increase in vulnerable migrants moving through Central America and Mexico if Title 42 were lifted.

What’s next: The Justice Department announced that it will appeal the ruling, but the Biden administration said it will continue enforcing the policy while at the same time “planning for the eventual lifting of Title 42.”