News/Commentary

White House hits back after judge blocks Biden admin from ending Title 42

May 21, 2022 | | Print Article

Thanks to a lawsuit filed by two dozen Republican state attorneys general, the Biden administration’s decision to lift Title 42 has been blocked by a federal judge for now, though the Justice Department is predictably planning to appeal the ruling.

“Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana, issued a preliminary injunction [on Friday] blocking the Biden administration from ending the restrictions, known as Title 42,” CBS News reported.

“Agreeing with arguments presented by Republican attorneys general who sued the Biden administration, Summerhays, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said the CDC had improperly terminated Title 42,” the report continued.

In a statement issued following the ruling, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the administration plans to appeal the ruling on the basis that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be accountable to no one.

“The Administration disagrees with the court’s ruling, and the Department of Justice has announced that it will appeal this decision. The authority to set public health policy nationally should rest with the Centers for Disease Control, not with a single district court,” she said.

A Department of Justice spokesperson issued a similar statement.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invoked its authority under Title 42 due to the unprecedented public-health dangers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. CDC has now determined, in its expert opinion, that continued reliance on this authority is no longer warranted in light of the current public-health circumstances. That decision was a lawful exercise of CDC’s authority,” the spokesperson said in defense of the CDC, (emphasis added.)

Note that the CDC’s so-called “expert opinion” has been shown on multiple occasions to be flat-out wrong.

“The Department of Justice intends to appeal the court’s decision,” the spokesperson added.

During the height of the COVID pandemic, the Trump administration began using Title 42 — an old public health law dating back to World War II — to turn away asylum seekers, the vast majority of whom have been shown to be men simply seeking work.

The move, in conjunction with other policy decisions made by the administration, helped lower illegal migration to record lows.

Fast-forward to April of this year, when the Biden administration announced its intent to revoke Title 42 starting on May 23rd.

“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement at the time.

The decision provoked an immediate outcry, with critics warning of the risks inherent in nixing Title 42 at such a time when the U.S. is experiencing a record number of border crossings per day.

Even some Democrats cried foul, including West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.

“Today’s announcement by the CDC and the Biden Administration is a frightening decision. Title 42 has been an essential tool in combatting the spread of COVID-19 and controlling the influx of migrants at our southern border,” the senator said in a statement immediately following the CDC’s announcement last month.

“We are already facing an unprecedented increase in migrants this year, and that will only get worse if the Administration ends the Title 42 policy. We are nowhere near prepared to deal with that influx. Until we have comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform that commits to securing our borders and providing a pathway to citizenship for qualified immigrants, Title 42 must stay in place,” he added.

Meanwhile, at least six Democrat candidates for office also slammed the decision, including Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley of North Carolina, Wisconsin state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Bucks executive and Senate candidate Alex Lasry, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin, and Florida Rep. Val Demings.

But the Biden administration ignored their concerns, which admittedly came as little surprise given this administration’s demonstrable lack of concern over the southern U.S. border being overrun by illegal aliens.

Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris was assigned last year to handle the border crisis, nothing has been done to stymie the flow of illegals. If anything, the number of migrants crossing illegally into the U.S. has just kept increasing and increasing.

Meanwhile, Harris has continued to cackle and crow as the world burns …

Vivek Saxena
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