The restrictions introduced by Donald Trump during the emergency of the Covid pandemic to block migrants on the border with Mexico remain in force. The conservative-majority Supreme Court accepted the request of the Republican states to maintain them considering that their abolition – this is the theory supported by the Republican prosecutors of the Grand Old Party – would have caused a wave of new arrivals, putting the border under further pressure. With five votes in favor and four against, the wise men ruled in favor of maintaining the limits with Neil Gorsuch, the judge nominated by Donald Trump, who voted together with the three liberal wise men.
In granting the Republicans’ motion, the Supreme Court has pledged to hear oral arguments on the measure in February or March and decide whether or not states can intervene. This means that the limits will certainly remain in force for months, or at least until there is a final decision. Although Title 42 is a health measure, many Republican hawks see it as a central tool for controlling immigration and tackling the ongoing crisis at the border, where migrants arrive by the thousands, even braving the cold. Since the beginning of 2020, its application has allowed the American authorities to expel millions of migrants.
The Biden administration had asked the Supreme Court to reject requests to keep the restrictions in place, however admitting that their abolition would have caused a “temporary increase in illegal border crossings”. “The solution to the immigration problem cannot be the extension of a health measure that we all know has gone beyond health justification,” the Biden administration told essays in the file filed to explain its motivations in asking for the removal of the stakes. But Democrats on Title 42 are divided. Senator Joe Manchin has in fact said he is in favor of maintaining the restrictions at least temporarily. California Governor Gavin Newsom has warned in recent weeks that without Title 42, the system for handling asylum requests could collapse.