The Biden administration’s plan to let Title 42 expire on December 21, 2022, has been halted. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts approved the request of a group of nineteen states to block Title 42 planned expiration. Title 42 was enacted as a public health law during the global COVID pandemic crisis, allowing the U.S. to expel asylum-seeking migrants on the basis of health risk. Individuals are pushed back to the country of entry, typically Mexico.

The states, including Arizona and Texas, filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court. They stated that the Title 42 planned expiration would cause an excessive number of individuals to enter the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that the daily number of crossings may more than double, moving up to 15,000 migrants in a day.

Justice Roberts agreed to keep Title 42 in place, in essence reversing a November 15, 2022, order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s ruling that put an end to Title 42.

This is the latest in a long stream of court reviews and decisions.

The states involved include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. All are represented by their respective attorneys general.

If you have questions about Title 42 or any other immigration-related issue, please contact us. We actively monitor ongoing updates to U.S. immigration policy to ensure our clients get the proper guidance.