Federal appeals court preserves administration’s ability to use Title 42 to expel migrant families By Myah Ward

1 October, 2021 | Filed under: All News,more news,RECENT POSTS | Posted by:
A judge’s earlier ruling to block the use of the public health order for removing migrants had been scheduled to go into effect on Thursday. Migrants, many from Haiti, are seen at an encampment along the Del Rio International Bridge in Texas on Sept. 21, 2021. Migrants, many from Haiti, are seen at an encampment along the Del Rio International Bridge in Texas on Sept. 21. | Julio Cortez/AP Photo

A federal court has moved to preserve the Biden administration’s ability to use a Trump-era public health order to expel migrant families arriving at the southern border.

The action by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C Circuit comes after a federal judge issued a time-delayed order to block the administration’s use of the Title 42 policy for removing migrant families earlier this month. The judge’s order, issued on Sept. 16, was scheduled to go into effect on Thursday.

“If the Biden administration really wants to treat asylum seekers humanely, it should end this lawless policy now and withdraw its appeal,” American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, the lead lawyer in the group’s Title 42 challenge, said Thursday. “We will continue fighting to end this illegal policy.”

 Thursday’s move is a major blow to the ACLU, human rights groups, immigration advocates and others who have called the use of Title 42 unlawful, inhumane and not justified by public health. The ACLU has led the legal challenge pressing the Biden administration to stop using the public health authority to expel migrants.

The order issued on Thursday is a stay at the request of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, likely delaying further action for months.

President Joe Biden has been criticized by advocates for not living up to his campaign promises to reverse Trump-era immigration policies. Advocates were outraged by reports that the administration was debating restarting a more humane version of another Trump-era program, the “Remain in Mexico” policy, after a federal judge ruled in August that the administration’s move to end Migrant Protection Protocols violated the law.

DHS said on Wednesday evening that it planned to issue a new memorandum in the coming weeks terminating the policy, which requires many asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they await hearings on their requests for safe haven in the U.S.

Source:Politico.com