Plan to lift US border expulsion policy blocked

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A court determined Friday that a health restriction implemented at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak that has stopped most asylum seekers at the US border with Mexico must remain in place.

Title 42, an order that basically prevents anybody without a visa from entering the United States, even to seek refuge, was set to expire on Monday. The order was repealed by President Joe Biden's administration, more than two years after it was enacted by then-President Donald Trump.

Read more: Title 42 applies to all migrants into the US, but not Ukrainians

However, Republican governors from more than 20 states sued to keep it in place, claiming that easing it would lead to an inflow of migrants, a contentious political topic in the United States. Federal judge Robert Summerhays issued an injunction on Friday.

According to the ruling, "The Plaintiff States contend that the Termination Order will result in a surge of border crossings and that this surge will result in an increase in illegal immigrants residing in the states."

The White House Department of Justice stated it would appeal the decision.

According to the White House, "The authority to set public health policy nationally should rest with the Centers for Disease Control, not with a single district court."

For proponents of migration reform, Title 42 has been a failure: an immigration policy disguised as a health policy that is unfit for either.

Read more: Mexican President advises US to change policy on migrants

The provision allows for the immediate and unjustified deportation of any foreigner or non-resident attempting to enter the nation without a visa.

There is no official deportation to the nation of origin, and a border agent can file for a Title 42 expulsion without the long interview procedure that is generally necessary.

Campaigners seized on Friday's verdict as a fresh indication that the US immigration system is dysfunctional.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, the senior policy advisor for the American Council on Migration, told AFP. that the decision was "nonsensical", adding that it would lead to continued harm for asylum seekers and create chaos at the border.

Title 42 has resulted in more than 1.8 million expulsions with many returning to attempt again, frequently in increasingly perilous conditions.

Campaigners point to the skyrocketing death toll for would-be migrants, including 557 deaths at the border in 2021, the bloodiest year since records began in 1998.

The main causes of death are dehydration and starvation while crossing the desert, in addition to drowning and falling while climbing the border wall.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, believes that the decision of the court "undermines the Biden administration’s efforts to implement what the vast majority of Americans support – a fair, humane, and orderly immigration system."

Hope is breaking 

Gladys Martinez, a Honduran, is one of the dozens of migrants who come every day to Yuma, a tiny community on the Mexican border with holes in the border wall.

She has traveled more than 4,000 kilometers from her native Colon, part of it on foot, fleeing violence and poverty in the hope of finding refuge.

She cried as she detailed the murder of her daughter to AFP, of whom she carried photos. 

"They killed my daughter, they choked her to death with a pillow and a bag."

The holes in the border wall in Yuma make it easy for some to walk through.

Off the record, US border guards claim a gate should have been erected here to enable official entry, but construction was suspended when President Joe Biden assumed office.

The majority of those who arrive at the wall are from Central or South America.

Many fly to Mexico or Nicaragua and then go overland, typically hiring a coyote (human trafficker) to get there.

Their travel experiences are all different, but all detail extreme pain. 

Miguel arrived in the US from Peru with his two girls and his wife, who was bleeding from a head wound.

"Someone threw a rock at her, this is her blood," he said.

An officer who spoke on condition of anonymity stated that "they probably got in someone's way."

Nearby on the floor, some items like clothing, food scraps, and written phone numbers are left behind. 

"Those who are not discovered by the border patrol leave everything they can to continue traveling as light as possible," the officer explained.

Border patrol personnel can disregard an asylum claim under a health regulation implemented by then-President Donald Trump in March 2020.

Anyone who does not have a valid visa may be deported immediately under Title 42.

The regulation, allegedly implemented to prevent persons carrying Covid-19 from entering the nation, was meant to expire on Monday, but a court determined on Friday that it should be extended.

The reasons and the restrictions are irrelevant to Carlos Escalante Barrera, a 38-year-old Honduran who arrived with his family.

"What we want is security," he says.

Border patrol agents do not examine the photographs and paperwork he provides. Instead, they direct him to a vehicle that will transport him for processing and, most likely, deportation.