Court blocks Biden from lifting Title 42 border restrictions on May 23

By Evan Simko-BednarskiApril 25, 2022 7:57pm  Updated

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A Louisiana federal court issued a temporary restraining order Monday preventing the Biden administration from lifting pandemic restrictions at the southern border.

The restrictions, known as Title 42, allow authorities to expel nearly all migrants from the border in the interest of stopping the spread of COVID-19. The states of Missouri, Arizona and Louisiana brought suit earlier this month in Federal court to keep the restrictions in place.

“Our Office just obtained a temporary restraining order to keep Title 42 in place,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt tweeted Monday. ‘This is a huge victory for border security, but the fight continues on.’

The Centers for Disease Control announced on April 1 that it had determined a “[suspension of] the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” and said the mandated restrictions would be lifted on May 23.

At the time, the CDC said the order would remain in place for the next seven weeks to “implement appropriate COVID-19 mitigation protocols, such as scaling up a program to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants and prepare for resumption of regular migration”.

Fox News reported Monday that the restraining order prevents any action before a May 13 hearing scheduled in the case. Neither the CDC nor the Biden administration have proposed lifting the restrictions earlier than May 23.

“Congress would have to take action in order for the date not to be May 23,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday when asked about the administration’s plans to lift the restrictions.

The decision to end Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law, is being legally challenged by 22 states and faces growing division within Biden’s Democratic Party.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas border Democrat, said last week that Biden is hurting their party by ending Title 42.