The Supreme Court has issued a 5-4 ruling to temporarily halt the termination of Title 42, an immigration policy enacted during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The policy allows immigration officials to quickly expel migrants on public health grounds and was initially set to expire last month. However, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with immigration advocates who argued that the policy is no longer necessary and set an end date of Dec. 21. Chief Justice John Roberts put a temporary hold on Title 42’s termination on Dec. 19.
In Tuesday’s 5-4 ruling, Justices Roberts, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas agreed to hear a challenge from Republican-led states during the February 2023 argument session.
Title 42 has had a significant impact on immigration since it was enacted at the beginning of the pandemic. Immigration officials have used this policy to quickly expel more than 500,000 people from the United States without due process or access to legal counsel, often separating families in what many consider a violation of human rights law. As such, immigration advocates believe that it is essential for this policy to be rescinded as soon as possible so that those who are seeking asylum can receive fair hearings and proper protection from deportation or other forms of harm. Others disagree.
The future of Title 42 remains uncertain as Republicans oppose its termination and push for it to remain in place until its challenge is heard by the Supreme Court in February 2023. Immigration advocates argue that if this policy stands, it will continue to allow people fleeing from violence and persecution to be quickly expelled from the country without due process or access to legal counsel. Even though there is still much uncertainty surrounding this issue right now, those fighting for immigrants’ rights remain hopeful that justice will prevail when their case reaches the Supreme Court next month.
