Supreme Court will keep Title 42 as they hear appeal from Republican states

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Title 42 will be kept in place as the court weighs an appeal from a group of Republican-led states, who have argued that ending the law would cause a crisis in southern states.

Title 42, put in place by the Trump administration, allows for migrants to be reported back to their home country in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in detention facilities.

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling reverses a previous decision from a lower court, which ruled that Title 42 would be brought to an end in December. That date will now be pushed back until the Supreme Court hears the appeal and issues a ruling.

However, the high court noted that the temporary halt “does not prevent the federal government from taking any action with respect to that policy.”

Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, John Roberts and Clarence Thomas voted to grant a hearing on the appeal while Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Ketanji Brown Jackson voted against granting the hearing.

The hearing was requested by a group of 19 states, who have argued that Title 42 ending would cause a significant increase in border crossings, which would then burden law enforcement, education and health care services.

The White House has responded to the Supreme Court’s decision, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying that they will “comply with the order and prepare for the Court’s review.”