By: Real America News Updated 04 Mar 2022, 18: 40 pm EST
A federal appeals court confirmed on Friday the government’s authority to carry out express deportations and remove immigrants under Title 42, a Trump-era COVID pandemic-related order withheld by the administration Biden, but prohibited US border officials from expelling undocumented immigrant families to countries where they could be harmed
, according to CBS News.
The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals partially affirmed a lower court order against the expulsion of migrant families by the government under a public health authority known as Title 42, which both the Trump and Biden administrations have argued is necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-18 in facilities of the border.
A panel of three judges said that the Title 42, which was first invoked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March 2020 despite objections from agency officials, allows border authorities to “immediately remove” immigrants who enter the U.S. without legal permission during a public health emergency.
“But you cannot expel them to places where they will be persecuted or tortured,” said the panel in an opinion of 32 Pages written by Circuit Judge Justin Walker, who was brought to court by former President Trump.
Migrants processed under Title 42 are promptly expelled to Mexico or placed on deportation flights to their home countries without being allowed to apply for humanitarian refuge in the United States before an asylum officer or an immigration judge.
Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who filed the lawsuit against Title 42, hailed Friday’s ruling as a “huge victory” for applicants for asylum. “The Title 42 can no longer be be used to summarily remove families seeking refuge from persecution or torture,” he told CBS News.
While Friday’s ruling rejected the ACLU’s argument that Title 42 does not authorize expulsions, could require the government to assess migrant families prior to deportation to ensure they are not fleeing persecution, a practice that could undermine the public health rationale for the policy, as it could keep migrants in US custody longer.
Furthermore, the order n judicial, if allowed to remain in force, it could also prompt the Biden administration to stop enforcing the Title 42 to families with children entirely, as it planned to do last summer, given the logistical challenges that would arise from detecting and detaining parents and children before expelling them.
During the administration of Biden, the majority of families that have arrived at the southern border with children have been processed under regular immigration procedures,
which generally means that they are released from the custody of immigration authorities with a notice to appear in court, where they can ask a judge for asylum.
In January, 32,795 migrant parents and children traveling as a family entered US custody along the border with Mexico , and the authorities expelled 8,333 of them, or the 26%.
Friday’s ruling only applies to migrant families traveling with minor children, not to single adults, who constitute the majority of those expelled under Title 42. The Biden administration has not been expelling unaccompanied children under Title 42, refusing to revive the era practice Trump in these cases.
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