Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is appealing a federal judge’s ruling last month that blocked the Title 42 border enforcement protocols put in place by President Donald Trump. The policy was enacted during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health order authorizing the expedited expulsion of illegal migrants encountered at the southern border.
The DHS is appealing a November decision of U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That ruling ordered Biden to lift the Title 42 restrictions on asylum seekers illegally entering the U.S.
JUST IN — The Biden administration says it will appeal the court ruling that invalidated the Trump-era Title 42 border restrictions.
As it stands, the administration will be required to stop expelling migrants under Title 42 in two weeks, on Dec. 21. pic.twitter.com/DQ4o6R4czd
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) December 7, 2022
Judge Sullivan was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton. In his ruling, he said the Title 42 Trump-era rules are “arbitrary and capricious.” His order gave DHS until December 21 to stop enforcing the protocols. It is unknown at this time if the appeals court will intervene before that deadline arrives.
The protocols were adopted by the Trump administration in March 2020 under Title 42 of a federal law enacted in 1944 authorizing emergency measures to protect public health nationwide. More than 2.4 million illegal border crossers have been summarily expelled under the protocols.
As the appeal was announced, the Biden White House said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is developing a new set of public health regulations applicable to border encounters with illegal migrants.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration attempted to lift Title 42 enforcement but was blocked by a separate lawsuit filed by a group of attorney generals from Republican-led states.
Now the Biden DHS is also expressing concern that ending Title 42 will lead to an even greater surge of illegal immigration at the nation’s border with Mexico. Official numbers indicate that between 6,000 and 8,000 people are illegally crossing the border each day currently. Experts estimate that if Title 42 is lifted, that daily figure could quickly shoot up to 14,000 to 18,000 illegal migrants.
