Title 42 updates: Supreme Court hears arguments in “stay in Mexico” policy

The Biden administration halted the policy but was forced to reinstate it after both Missouri and Texas sued.

“They’re no longer running from border patrol, they’re turning themselves in,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “That’s how it works now.”

“We submitted an amicus briefing highlighting the many horrifying stories of immigrants trapped in Mexico as a result of the policies now on trial,” said Tami Goodlette, director of litigation for RAICES, an immigration rights nonprofit.

At the same time, a policy called Title 42 is still in use.

It’s a public health order that allows the US government to turn away migrants, including those seeking asylum due to the pandemic.

Title 42 was due to be overturned in May, but a federal judge has issued an injunction on that overturn, so it may remain in place longer than expected.

“At the end of the day, we’re still not over the elephant in the room that is, ‘How are we going to fix our broken immigration system so people don’t enter illegally?’ There’s a certain sector of bad actors who tell people, oh things are changing, you should come over now, and at the end of the day, they’re the only winners in this whole cycle, because what happens? people get lost at the border,” said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of immigration rights group FIEL Houston.

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