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US Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Ending Migrant Restrictions


Border Patrol officers patrol the Rio Grande river on an airboat, as U.S. border cities brace for an influx of asylum seekers as COVID-era Title 42 migration restrictions are set to end, in Eagle Pass, Texas, Dec. 19, 2022.
Border Patrol officers patrol the Rio Grande river on an airboat, as U.S. border cities brace for an influx of asylum seekers as COVID-era Title 42 migration restrictions are set to end, in Eagle Pass, Texas, Dec. 19, 2022.

The U.S. Supreme Court set a Tuesday afternoon deadline for responses to its order, leaving, for now, restrictions in place at the U.S.-Mexico border that have been used to prevent hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum.

The restrictions, commonly known as Title 42, were put in place under former President Donald Trump at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said the measures are no longer necessary to protect public health, and President Joe Biden’s administration has said it wants to end the policy.

A federal judge set Wednesday as the end date for Title 42, but a group of 19 states with Republican attorneys general challenged that ruling, arguing that lifting the restrictions will burden border states with an influx of migrants.

The White House has sought $3 billion in extra funding for personnel, technology and holding facilities.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that lifting the restrictions “does not mean the border is open.”

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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