Washington, D.C. — Today, Judge Robert R. Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction to the Biden administration’s plan to lift Title 42. Following the ruling, Patrick Gaspard, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
The data is clear—there is no public health justification for upholding Title 42. There is also no legal justification for upholding Title 42, and its abuse is in violation of our amnesty obligations under U.S. law. Judge Summerhays decision to block the lifting of Title 42 at the eleventh hour will prevent countless people from seeking asylum in the United States, subjecting them to brutal violence. This ruling subverts the authority of the CDC to set public health policy—to the whim of one Trump appointed judge. The Biden administration was correct to lift Title 42: In doing so, they restored faith and order to a long-broken immigration system. It also must be noted that Title 42 is being expressly applied to countries that are home to asylum seekers of color at the exact moment the process for entering the United States has been expedited for European refugees. All efforts to uphold Title 42, including the judge’s decision today, are shameless and hypocritical.
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Julia Cusick at [email protected].