Fifteen ‘republican’ states filed an application in a US federal court for the maintenance of the sanitary measure used since 2020 to control the flow at the land border, due to the spread of Covid-19, known as Title 42.
Arizona, Texas, Louisiana and twelve other states presented their motion for Judge Emmet Sullivan to intervene on Monday night, after a week ago he determined that the Government headed by Democrat Joe Biden suspended this regulation.
“As the invalidation of Title 42 will directly harm the states, now they seek to intervene to defend it,” stressed the legal teams of these states, in the process delivered in the District of Columbia court.
The applicants argue that, if the regulations introduced by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) are lifted, border states such as Arizona or Texas will face an “increased flow of migrants.”
The judge approved this Tuesday the calendar proposed by the states in the motion, which speeds up the holding of hearings to hear the arguments of the parties.
The court gave the Biden administration until December 21 to suspend Title 42, which allowed the expulsion of more than 2.5 million migrants since March 2020, according to data from the organization International Rescue.
When this health regulation instituted by Trump is suspended, Title 8 will apply, which allows migrants to request asylum at ports of entry and gives the Government the power to deport and even apply sanctions to those who do not meet the requirements and are considered inadmissible. .
In the decision, Judge Emmet Sullivan considered this measure indeed “arbitrary and capricious.”
The decision was celebrated by activists and organizations that defend the rights of migrants.
The US government announced on Tuesday that it has launched a plan to end Title 42, as explained by the acting undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Blas Nuñez-Neto.
The Joe Biden-led administration’s plans include measures to reduce processing times, impose penalties on those who cross the border illegally and work with governments in the region, including Mexico, to deal with human smugglers, Núñez said.
“There are more than 23,000 agents at the border and we have significantly increased our detention capacity, in order to be able to transport migrants and deport them,” he explained.
Núñez also announced that, as part of its preparation, the Joe Biden government is in negotiations with governments in the region to be able to deport Venezuelans to third countries.
Title 42 originates from a 19th century law designed to prevent the “introduction” of communicable diseases into the US.
The main difference between the regulations is that Title 8 requires authorities to transfer undocumented immigrants to detention centers for several hours where they can apply for asylum, while Title 42 allows deportation to be resolved in 15 minutes with no room for the asylum.
In October alone there were 230,000 arrests at the US-Mexico border, with more than 78,400 expulsions from US territory.
Through Title 42, the US has expelled more than 2.5 million migrants, according to data from the International Rescue Committee.
Source: TSF
