Another federal judge has stuck a dagger in what little efforts the Biden administration was making to enforce the nation’s laws against illegal immigration.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. ruled that the Trump-era use of Title 42 to expel migrants at the border under the Administrative Procedures Act was “arbitrary” and thus unenforceable.
“It is unreasonable for the CDC to assume that it can ignore the consequences of any actions it chooses to take in the pursuit of fulfilling its goals, particularly when those actions included the extraordinary decision to suspend the codified procedural and substantive rights of non-citizens seeking safe harbor,” Sullivan wrote in his opinion.
The title was implemented in early 2020 to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the policy has been regularly attacked by pro-migrant groups as well as the Biden administration.
Several groups, including the ACLU, sued to get rid of the policy in July 2021, arguing that it is an improper interpretation of the Public Health Service Act.
In addition, the Biden administration attempted to end the policy earlier this year but in response, several Republican state attorneys general filed suit to keep Title 42 in effect. But Sullivan’s ruling now means that the administration must stop enforcing it unless he is overturned by a higher federal court.
The Biden administration filed a motion asking Sullivan to allow his order to take effect in five weeks.
“The delay in implementation of the court’s order will allow the government to prepare for an orderly transition to new policies at the border. But to be clear, under the unopposed motion, Title 42 would remain in place for some period. During the period of this freeze, we will prepare for an orderly transition to new policies at the border,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The Daily Wire adds:
The ruling comes after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data from Monday recorded 230,678 migrant encounters at the southern border in October. Many are concerned that the end of Title 42 would worsen Biden’s border crisis, as more than one million migrants have been expelled since 2020 under the policy.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott blasted the decision in a statement on Twitter on Tuesday.
“Federal Judge blocks federal authorities from using Title 42,” Abbott tweeted. “This will further signal to cartels, human smugglers, & illegal immigrants that the border is wide open—inciting more violence & lawlessness. Disastrous.”
Federal Judge blocks federal authorities from using Title 42.
This will further signal to cartels, human smugglers, & illegal immigrants that the border is wide open—inciting more violence & lawlessness.
Disastrous.https://t.co/IrK0jkvtGw
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 15, 2022
Also Tuesday, Abbott, who just won reelection handily over serial Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke, also invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions to empower state officials to better combat illegal immigration and smuggling.
“While President Biden refuses to do his job and enforce the immigration laws enacted by Congress, the State of Texas is once again stepping up and taking unprecedented action to protect Americans and secure our southern border,” Abbott said in a statement. “The cartels have become emboldened and enriched by President Biden’s open border policies, smuggling in record numbers of people, weapons, and deadly drugs like fentanyl.”
