Biden administration asks federal judge to deny request to immediately block end of Title 42 

On Friday, the Biden administration asked a federal judge in Louisiana to deny a request from over 20 states to immediately stop the end of a Trump-era pandemic restriction placed on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Right now, the administration is set to end the public health order, called Title 42, on May 23, but in the meantime, border authorities will still be allowed to turn migrants away at the border. 

The Justice Department argued in a court filing: “Plaintiffs fail to show that they face a significant, non-speculative threat of injury. In fact, they cannot. [The Department of Homeland Security] continues to prioritize Title 42 expulsions to the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.”

Currently, 21 states are arguing that the administration has started releasing migrants into the United States, as the authorities do have the discretion to do so, and the states requested that the court intervene.

On Friday, Texas filed its own separate suit against the Biden administration to end Title 42. The Justice Department did push back on the claim, noting that as it plans to defer to the traditional immigration protocols in some instances, those numbers remain relatively minor.

“Use of expedited removal for amenable populations serves important law enforcement goals,” said Blas Nuñez-Neto, who works as a senior Homeland Security official, in a statement.

“Individuals from Northern Triangle countries that are placed into expedited removal and returned to their home countries are farther from the border than if they were simply expelled into Mexico pursuant to Title 42. And, as noted above, those who nonetheless seek to re-enter will face criminal sanction and be barred from lawful admission for a period of five years,” he continued.

Nuñez-Neto added that increasing the use of expedited removal is one aspect of the preparation for the future end of Title 42. Still, the administration will be leaning on the DHS until the order is ended.