Federal judge allows continued Title 42 migrant expulsions at the border

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Louisiana on Friday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from ending Title 42, a designation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that has allowed border patrol officials to turn migrants away at the border. 

The order from U.S. District Court Judge Robert Summerhays for a preliminary nationwide injunction will stop the White House from halting the program, which was set to expire on Monday. 

The CDC’s decision to sunset the program, which began in March 2020 during the Trump administration, infuriated Republican lawmakers who argued it needed to remain in place. 

Some centrist Democrats, including Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Gov. Steve Sisolak, also said that the Biden administration didn’t seem fully prepared to deal with the surge of migrants that is expected once the order is lifted, and asked that a comprehensive plan be put in place first.

Twenty-four states, including Arizona, Louisiana and Missouri, filed a lawsuit in April to keep Title 42 in place. 

Those states argued that ending the public health designation would have resulted in a “surge of border crossings, and that this surge will result in an increase in illegal immigrants residing in the states.”

Several of the states alleged that the uptick in immigrants would increase the amount of money they needed to spend on education, health care and law enforcement. 

The ruling on Friday noted that the court determined that “injunctive relief would serve the public interest.” 

Former President Donald Trump appointed Summerhays to the federal judgeship in Louisiana, where he has served since 2018.