District Judge Emmet Sullivan, sitting in Washington DC, on Tuesday ruled that Title 42 could not stand
The first migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since a federal judge lifted a pandemic-era rule to rapidly expel them have been pictured.
More than 1,500 Venezuelan migrants camped on the Rio Grande across from El Paso, Texas have been seen, while thousands more line up around the border elsewhere.
A number of migrants have already made it across the border, with a group of illegal crossers from Venezuela being pictured saying a prayer after making the crossing.
The ‘Title 42’ rule was lifted by a federal judge on Nov. 15, with the National Border Patrol Council saying ‘the Biden Administration has done absolutely nothing to prepare for this outcome.’
The rule meant that migrants illegally crossing into the U.S. were immediately expelled back over the border to be processed.
With Title 42 now lifted, however, illegal migrants will now be processed in the U.S. by Border Patrol agents instead of being removed from the country.
The move is predicted to put a huge strain on agents, who are anticipated to see a ‘surge’ of illegal crossings in the coming days and weeks.
‘If you think things are bad now, just wait for the sh!t show that’s coming,’ the National Border Patrol Council wrote on Twitter.
Ronny Jackson, the former White House doctor who now serves as a congressman representing Texas, urged his followers to pray for the Border Patrol.
‘Title 42 was just ENDED and a new SURGE of illegals will now head for our southern border,’ he said.
‘PRAY for our brave Border Patrol agents, it’s a SHAME that Biden won’t lift a finger to support them. 49 days until we can STOP THE MADNESS in the House Majority!’
Greg Abbott, governor of his state, Texas, said it was a reckless move.
‘This will further signal to cartels, human smugglers, & illegal immigrants that the border is wide open – inciting more violence & lawlessness. Disastrous,’ he said.
Venezuelan migrants perform a prayer after crossing the Rio Grande to surrender to border patrol agents with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum on Nov. 15, 2022
Migrants cross the border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico to request humanitarian asylum in the United States earlier today
Venezuelan migrants gather in an encampment in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico on Nov. 15, 2022. More than 1,500 Venezuelan migrants are camped on the Rio Grande across from El Paso, with more arriving every day
Arizona congressman Andy Biggs called it a ‘grave mistake’.
‘An activist judge legislating from the bench just blocked the usage of Title 42 at the border amid a historic crisis,’ he said.
‘This means millions of illegal aliens (many dangerous) will be allowed entry into the country. This decision is a grave mistake.’
And Marsha Blackburn, senator for Tennessee, said: ‘Title 42 preserves our nation’s sovereignty.
‘Our country has every right to protect that sovereignty, and we must support policies that put our national security first.’
The scheme was implemented by the Trump administration in March 2020, and designed amid the pandemic to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Migrants were no longer allowed to be processed in the United States, instead being sent back across the border to Mexico.
President Joe Biden had earlier attempted to lift it and set a date for May 23, 2022, arguing that the pandemic-era justification had passed, but was blocked by a federal court in Louisiana, which ruled on May 20 that the policy had to stay in place.
On Tuesday, District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington DC ruled that Title 42 should be lifted, describing it as an ‘arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.’
In a case brought by the ACLU against the Biden administration, Sullivan ruled that Title 42 went too far, and that it would be lifted immediately.
Supporters of Title 42 have said its repeal paves the way for a surge in migrant crossings, which the United States is not able to handle.
Those arguing for its repeal say ending Title 42 has lifted one of the last remaining Trump administration barriers to lawful asylum claims.
Lee Gelernt, ACLU’s lawyer, who specializes in migration cases, said after the decision: ‘Title 42 was never about public health, and this ruling finally ends the charade of using Title 42 to bar desperate asylum seekers from even getting a hearing.’
Gelernt told CBS News: ‘This ruling is of enormous significance for asylum-seekers and will hopefully put an end to the misuse of public health laws to block desperate people from seeking protection.’
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a member of the progressive ‘Squad’, celebrated its repeal.
‘Title 42 is a racist policy created by Trump and weaponized against Black and brown migrants. It should have never been implemented and I’m glad it’s coming to an end,’ she said.
Californian congresswoman Barbara Lee agreed, tweeting: ‘Finally. #Title42 was a racist, xenophobic Trump-era policy that blocked asylum seekers from entry using a misguided public health rule.
‘This decision is long overdue. Seeking asylum is a human right—one we must safeguard by reinstating humanitarian protections at the border.’
Migrants cross the border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexio to request humanitarian asylum in the United States on Nov. 15, 2022
Migrants cross the border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico to request humanitarian asylum in the United States on Nov. 15, 2022
Venezuelan migrants at the Ciudad Juarez encampment in Mexico are pictured on Tuesday, awaiting their moment to cross into the U.S.
Venezuelan migrants are pictured in Ciudad Juarez on Tuesday, gathering near the U.S.-Mexico border
Sullivan’s ruling, issued on Tuesday, said that Title 42 was an ‘arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act’
Sullivan, in his ruling, took issue with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), condemning ‘its decision to ignore the harm that could be caused’ by issuing the policy.
He said the CDC also failed to consider alternative approaches, such as letting migrants self-quarantine in homes of US-based friends, family, or shelters.
Sullivan also said that the CDC should have revised Title 42 sooner, when vaccines and tests became widely available.
‘With regard to whether defendants could have ‘ramped up vaccinations, outdoor processing, and all other available public health measures,’… the court finds the CDC failed to articulate a satisfactory explanation for why such measures were not feasible,’ Sullivan wrote.
Sullivan also said that the policy did not limit the pandemic, because COVID-19 was already rampant in the United States by the time it went into effect.
The Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security had no immediate response to the ruling, and could launch an appeal – although Sullivan refused to stay his decision pending an appeal.
An appeal was considered unlikely, as the Biden administration earlier this year stated their intention to end Title 42.
Federal officers made more than 230,600 arrests in October at the U.S.-Mexico border, and expelled more than 78,400 without providing a chance for them to plead their cases.
U.S. officials have carried out more than 2.4 million expulsions, mainly from the southern border, since the previous administration issued the order in March 2020.
Most expulsions have been under Biden because the number of arriving migrants has soared.
Federal immigration law allows anyone who sets foot on U.S. soil to request asylum, though they must meet specific criteria to qualify.
Asylum seekers must fear persecution or torture in their country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or other reasons that make them a target.
Border officials apprehended more than 2.3 million migrants last fiscal year along the Mexico border.
More than 1.6 million were adults, 560,600 were families and 152,000 were unaccompanied minors – an all-time high for that group.