The Supreme Court on Monday paused the upcoming expiration of Title 42.
In a filing, Chief Justice Roberts stayed the lower court order that ended the pandemic-era policy, which had allowed the administration to expel illegal immigrants as a means to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Roberts gave the DOJ until Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. to file a response to the states petitioning to maintain Title 42.
The order comes after Arizona filed an emergency appeal Monday asking the Supreme Court to preserve Title 42 before its expiration date on Wednesday.
Written by Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich, the request was directed to Roberts to review on behalf of applicants Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
“No one reasonably disputes that the failure to grant a stay will cause a crisis of unprecedented proportions at the border. DHS estimates that daily illegal crossings may more than double from around 7,000/day to 15,000/day once Title 42 is terminated,” the filing read.
In November, a group of Republican attorneys general from states such as Arizona and Louisiana filed suit in a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to protect Title 42 but had their petition denied.
“Getting rid of Title 42 will recklessly and needlessly endanger more Americans and migrants by exacerbating the catastrophe that is occurring at our southern border,” Brnovich said.
Border officials have warned that Title 42’s end could bring an explosion of illegal immigration, which has been ongoing and steadily increasing. The situation is so urgent that the Democratic mayor of El Paso, Texas, a town that’s been overwhelmed by the border crisis, declared a state of emergency on Saturday, expecting that the “influx on Wednesday will be incredible.”
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Even progressive cities are bracing for impact as they anticipate illegal immigrants will arrive in droves, likely demanding public services. On Sunday, New York City mayor Eric Adams accused state and federal leaders of disregarding his pleas for resources to help accommodate the incoming inflow of illegal immigrants after Title 42 is lifted.
“This can’t continue. With the expiration of Title 42 just days away, we need the federal government-both in the administration and in Congress-to share their plans to move asylum seekers to other cities, to allow asylum seekers to work, and to send aid to the cities that have borne the brunt of this crisis,” Adams wrote in a letter to city council members. About 30,000 migrants have already come through the city, putting the state’s shelter system at full capacity.