WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order on Monday blocking the Biden administration from lifting Title 42, a public health order that allows the federal government to quickly expel migrants, until it officially expires next month.
The Centers for Disease Control announced it would terminate Title 42 on May 23, saying that the order “suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary” due to “an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19.”
The lawsuit was originally filed by Missouri, Louisiana, and Arizona in the U.S. District Court in Louisiana. Several other states have since joined the lawsuit, Fox News reported.
“(The states) have established a substantial threat of immediate and irreparable injury resulting from the early implementation of Title 42, including unrecoverable costs on healthcare, law enforcement, detention, education, and other services for migrants,” wrote U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Summerhays, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, said states were likely to succeed with their argument that the administration failed to adhere to federal procedures when it announced April 1 that it was ending Title 42 authority.
The judge has scheduled a critical hearing on May 13 in Lafayette to hear arguments on whether to block Title 42 from ending as planned 10 days later.
Summerhays’ order requires the Homeland Security Department to “return to policies and practices in place” before it announced plans to end Title 42 and to submit weekly reports that demonstrate it is acting “in good faith.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
