US Supreme Court keeps controversial border policy in place

The US government's two-year-old policy of invoking Covid-19 precautions to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants at the Mexican border will remain in place for now, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

According to Press TV, the decision to uphold the controversial rule known as Title 42 stemmed off a looming political crisis for President Joe Biden, as thousands waited at the southern border in expectation the policy was about to end.

But the conservative-dominated high court accepted a petition from 19 states warning of a surge of migrants, should the policy introduced under former President Donald Trump in March 2020 be lifted as ordered by a lower court.

The Supreme Court said Title 42 -- which allows the swift expulsion even of people who might qualify for asylum -- would remain in place pending its own ruling on the issue, and that it would hear the case in February.

"The states contend that they face an immigration crisis at the border and policymakers have failed to agree on adequate measures to address it," the court said in its 5-4 ruling.

"The only means left to mitigate the crisis, the states suggest, is an order from this Court directing the federal government to continue its Covid-era Title 42 policies as long as possible."

The ruling could give the Biden administration, which had conceded that Title 42 was wrong and had prepared for a surge of asylum-seeking migrants, until May or June before a final decision.

'Broken' system

White House Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration will comply with the court's order and prepare for the hearing.

"At the same time, we are advancing our preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 eventually lifts," Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

"Title 42 is a public health measure, not an immigration enforcement measure, and it should not be extended indefinitely. "

"To truly fix our broken immigration system, we need Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform," she said.

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy said that removing Title 42 "would have made our border crisis worse, and the White House seemed willing to let that happen."

"Glad to see the Supreme Court step in to preserve it, but we need a permanent solution," he said on Twitter.

ME