In another attempt to wind down a Trump-era policy, Biden tackled Title 42, a migrant expulsion policy signed into law by Donald Trump at the start of the 2020 pandemic.
However, he was stopped dead in his tracks by US District Judge of Lafayette, Louisianna, Robert Summerhays.
This judge ruled the policy was being ignored and the Biden administration’s lax stance on border control was causing a surge in illegal immigrants.
The Trump appointee judge is now set to hold a second hearing that could potentially prevent Biden from halting the policy; although the current decision is nothing more than a minor setback for the Biden administration.
I am the daughter of an immigrant from Central America.
I know the value of a safe and secure border.
The Biden Administration's plan to end Title 42 is neither safe or secure.
— Catalina Lauf (@CatalinaLauf) April 18, 2022
Summerhays scheduled a hearing on May 13th, in order to be presented with arguments for blocking Title 42 from ending.
The position he’s staked out is sympathetic with 21 states looking to preserve Title 42 authority and the integrity of the border.
Illegal immigration reaches 22-year-high
The Justice Department left no comment on the order, but the administration complied, albeit with the notion they’re in preparation to end Title 42 authority as early as May 23rd.
The rule has expelled more than 1.8 million migrants from the US since it was originally invoked in March 2020. Summerhays demanded that the Homeland Security Department submit weekly reports to show them acting in “good faith.”
PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER: @TuckerCarlson says if Title 42 is dropped, the border surge will almost guarantee Dems lose their majority in November. https://t.co/FjjRVMczqZ pic.twitter.com/CfDQB6KRiq
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 28, 2022
Last month, over 220k migrants were stopped at the Mexican border, reaching a 22-year high.
This also prompted concerns from the general public regarding the government’s ability to combat illegal immigration, especially if Title 42 is lifted.
Unfortunately, there are always those who stand with these illegal immigrants. Those folks advocating for asylum-seekers are claiming the restrictions are violations of their right to seek protection under US law.
Trump-era policy lives on
The CDC argued that the justification for the order is gone, now that the COVID-19 threat has weakened.
At the same time, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has gone as far as claiming the current administration is doing a terrific job at handling the increase of illegal migrants.
Meanwhile, the data and numbers of illegal border crossings tell a very different story.
.@RepMTG when asked what she thought when seeing the conditions of the southern border, “The Biden administration, he is the greatest business partner to the cartels.” #Texas #Title42 #BorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/areadZcwwz
— Juan More News (@JuanMoreNews) April 25, 2022
Mayorkas attributed the increase in migrants to the “years of distress” preceding the Biden administration.
However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the current administration has seen record numbers of unaccompanied children at the border.
These numbers are reaching nearly 75k in the 2022 fiscal year, equaling the pace of the 2021 fiscal year when over 145k minors were detained.
In total, the Border Patrol reported a 33% spike in undocumented migrant encounters in March 2022 alone.
This is clearly showing us only a portion of the devastating effect the removal of Title 42 could possibly have.
