Court sides with Biden administration, leaves Covid limits on asylum seekers in place for now

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court sided with the Biden administration on Thursday night in a decision that will allow the Department of Homeland Security to continue to impose Covid restrictions that have barred the majority of asylum seekers from ‘enter the United States this year.

The policy, known as Title 42, was due to be lifted on Thursday under an order from a lower court, but the administration has appealed the decision.

The Trump administration had invoked Title 42, a rarely used clause in public health law, to push immigrants back to the US-Mexico border. The Biden administration had kept the policy in place, but a U.S. district judge ruled in September that the law did not give the power to bar asylum seekers from entering the country.

In anticipation of the lifting of Title 42, DHS officials were bracing for a historic border increase of 400,000 migrants in a single month, fearing the new policy would entice even more migrants to come.

In its order, the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit said it would grant the Biden administration’s request for an emergency stay and schedule oral argument on the case for January 2022.

Immigration advocates who have sued the administration to end the policy say it is an execution measure disguised as a public health order.

“If the Biden administration is serious about treating asylum seekers humanely, it should end this lawless policy now and withdraw its appeal. We will continue to fight to end this illegal policy, ”said Lee Gelernt, lawyer for the ACLU and lead lawyer in the Title 42 trial.

Noah Gottschalk, head of global policy for Oxfam America, who also pursues Title 42, said the court’s decision was “disturbing”.

“It is disturbing that the court upholds the government’s motion to restore Title 42 just days after the district court ruled that its policy violated US law. We have all seen the horrific images of the abuses suffered by Haitian asylum seekers under Title 42, and we cannot allow people to suffer more harm because of this xenophobic policy, ”said Gottschalk.

In recent weeks, the arrival of more than 25,000 Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, has taken DHS by surprise and has trained border officials in the role of crowd control. Images of government agents on horseback trying to stop Haitians from crossing the river drew strong public criticism and led to an internal investigation.