The immigration crisis at Southern Border States has just become a little bit cloudier. On Tuesday, The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump-era border restrictions, labeled Title 42 (United States Code) will remain and be enforced until all legal challenges have their day in court.
The ruling comes as a nation looks at the southern border as a referendum on not only Trump, but the State of the Union. The historic ruling gives federal officials the exclusive rights to expel migrants at US borders without pushback or opposition from fear of legal implications. The 5/4 ruling is a major victory for the neighboring southern states who has urged the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court ruling to terminate authority. For many migrants at the border awaiting the ruling, the stay of Title 42 was expected.
The Biden administration plans in lieu of a lift of Title 42 involved major logistical procedures to ensure border states were prepared for an influx at the border. However, with Tuesdays decision, the preparation by the Department of Homeland Security is on pause until further notice.
One thing is for certain, the process for a pathway to citizenship has to be rectified and revamped. To date, there are only (4) basic legal pathways to citizenship which includes; marriage, DREAMERS Act, Asylum, and the natural process which can take up to ten years to be approved by the US and in many times the home countries consulate. Would lifting of the Trump Administration Title 42 cause a immigration crisis at the southern borders of the United States? To date, the Title 42 law has been used to expel over 2.4 million times and counting since it was implemented as law. With time looming, the Biden Administration has an important decision to make by February, 2023 when the new session begins. The previous deadline set by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, was extended to the decision reached on Tuesday.
The argument of Title 42 is its mandate in the name of Covid-19 prevention, giving US border agents the authority to turn away migrants and asylum seekers away who have crossed the southern border illegally. “The use of public health authority to carry out a extradition is unlawful and inhumane”, many immigrant advocates argue. With the recent cold-front to come across the United States, many migrants have been waiting in sub par conditions in Mexico for months. The Title 42 rule by the Trump administration has created a stand-off at the border like never seen before. The total migrants some estimate are in the hundred thousands, with the number of deportations hovering around 40k a year.
In a statement after the ruling, President Biden confirmed that his administration would enforce the Trump-era immigration restrictions. President Biden went on to say, “I think it’s past time to revoke it.” A referendum or vote on Title 42 isn’t expected to happen until sometime in the summer of 2023; however, a pledge to continue to manage the border was promised. Top lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union representing families affected by Title 42 argued that the law underscored the dangers faced by asylum seekers would be grave if sent back to Mexico and neighboring countries.
The border from Guatemala to Mexico has experienced mass migration in the past century. Since the 1990’s, the total number of migrants fleeing poverty and violence as tripled with many citing hopes for a better life in America.
All we can do is hope that Congress will pass comprehensive immigration legislation this upcoming cycle.
