The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dropped the pending Title 42 case from the court’s calendar. The Trump-era policy had been used to eject hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants at the southern border over concerns of coronavirus infections.
While no explanation was given, the move came after the Biden administration described the case as “moot.” Title 42, according to the White House, will end with the formal conclusion of the COVID-19 public health emergency in May.
JUST IN: The Supreme Court cancels the March 1 oral argument in Arizona v. Mayorkas, involving the Title 42 immigration policy. The government recently told the justices that the case may become moot on May 11 because the policy will expire when the COVID emergency formally ends.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) February 16, 2023
The successful policy was implemented by the Trump administration along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the early days of the pandemic.
A federal judge ordered the program’s end in December, but a concerted effort by Republican lawmakers led to the suspension of the removal order. There was to be a formal hearing and a decision, but the end will apparently wait until May.
The Biden administration announced in January that the COVID-19 emergency declaration will end May 11.
There is a strong likelihood, however, that GOP-led states will seek to push that date further along as it pertains to Title 42. The policy has been instrumental in turning back an estimated 2.5 million illegal migrants.
If the policy expires in May, that will coincide with the onset of the heaviest annual period for border crossings. And therein lies the problem.
The Biden administration is quite accomplished in deflecting attention away from the debacle that is the nation’s southern border. The White House periodically announces this new scheme or that “innovative” program to regain control of illegal migration that was enjoyed under his predecessor.
In reality, however, the administration is mostly playing a shell game. It diverts illegal migrants into various programs and claims that the border is “secure” when it is in fact anything but.
Even now, the Department of Homeland Security asserts that it has a “six-point plan” to handle the predictable spike in border crossings when Title 42 is no more. There will supposedly be an increase in border resources and greater cooperation with the Mexican government.
And yet the waves will continue to pour across. Numbers will be shuffled and the White House will claim success, and it will all be confirmed by the left-wing media. Meanwhile, border states will continue to be ravaged by uncontrolled migration and nothing will change.
