District Court Judge Mark Pittman denied a request by Republican officials in Texas that the Biden administration not exempt migrant children traveling alone from the pandemic-era expulsion policies. This policy is known as Title 42 and is a section within the U.S. health code.
Friday’s ruling of Pittman, who was named by ex-President Donald Trump in 2019, marks the latest victory for Texas’ Republican government. Since President Biden’s inauguration, numerous lawsuits have been filed against his administration to stop him from implementing his immigration and border policies.
Texas has blocked important Biden administration immigration policies. This includes a 100-day moratorium last January on deportations. A federal judge also ordered that U.S. border officials revive a Trump-era program that required migrants to wait in Mexico for their asylum hearings.
The ruling of Pittman was made just hours after the Washington, D.C. federal appeals court had prohibited the Biden administration to use Title 42 to expel families with children who are migrant families. This order is still in effect.
The Title 42 policy was first implemented in March 2020. It allows U.S. immigration officials to expel migrants from Mexico or their home countries without screening them for asylum and without allowing them to see any judge. According to government data, more than 1.5 million migrant expulsions were made so far.
The Title 42 expulsions have been retained by the Biden administration, who argued that they are necessary to stop the spread of coronavirus within border detention facilities. The U.S. border officers have used Title 42 to expel single adult migrants as well as families travelling with minors, according to Mr. Biden.
The Biden administration refused to expel unaccompanied minors, who are entitled to special protections under U.S. law. Unaccompanied children have been transferred to shelters by officials of the Department of Health and Human Services as required by an anti-trafficking 2008 law.
Unaccompanied children are kept in HHS custody until they are placed with family members. They can also seek asylum or other benefits to stay in the U.S., such as visas for neglected, abused or abandoned youth.
Pittman claimed that the Biden administration failed in its duty to justify the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention Orders codifying the Title 42 exemption for unaccompanied children last summer. He called them “arbitrary and capricious” and in contravention of federal administrative law.
Pittman claimed that Texas has been financially harmed by Title 42 exemptions due to costs associated with education and medical services for migrant kids who have moved to Texas.
In light of Friday’s court ruling, it is unclear whether the administration will begin to expel unaccompanied minors. Nearly 16,000 unaccompanied minors were expelled under Title 42 during the Trump administration. A federal judge stopped the practice in November 2020 calling it illegal.
Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), did not respond immediately to inquiries about how they would comply with Friday’s court order.
Pittman temporarily suspended his order for seven calendar days in order to allow the government to appeal. The Justice Department, which would appeal the decision, didn’t respond to a request.
