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Here’s a little good news about what is happening with the southern border. Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration’s intention to end Title 42 next month. This order will expire in 14 days.

Judge Summerhays is presiding over Louisiana v. CDC. This is a lawsuit against the administration brought by Missouri and Arizona and other states against the decision to stop deportations based on Title 42, a public health policy that allows for the immediate expulsion of illegal migrants at the border. Biden, DHS Secretary Mayorkas, and the CDC have all confirmed the decision to end Title 42 on May 23.

Title 42 is the one process still being used by the Biden administration at the southern border that was in place when he took office. Other policies and agreements used by the previous administration which worked to diminish the flood of illegal migrants trying to cross into the United States. Biden’s nonsensical attitude that he is approaching border security in a more humane way than the bad Orange Man did has backfired spectacularly. The Biden border crisis is entirely self-inflicted onto our country and there is nothing humane about the situation.

Over 1.7 million illegal migrants have been expelled using Title 42. Though it is a public health policy and not an immigration policy, Title 42 is a tool that assists in controlling the border. The personnel on the ground at the border need all the tools at their disposal. They are overwhelmed as it is. When Title 42 is stopped, it is predicted that the flow of migrants will explode to up to 18,000 apprehensions per day. That number does not include the ‘got aways’, the migrants that run from law enforcement and are not apprehended. If the border is not secure now, the conditions will only get worse. The truth is that securing the border and protecting the sovereignty of the United States, as well as protecting national security interests, is not a priority of Joe Biden or his administration. They don’t care about the humanitarian crisis they have created and allow to flourish.

The Biden administration has been caught unprepared for the blowback it is receiving from both Republicans and Democrats. Senate Republicans blocked a $10 billion Covid relief bill in response to the decision to end Title 42. The funding bill will not move forward until a real plan is put in place to handle what is about to happen on the border. Local sheriffs and police in border communities have asked that the policy remain in place. They are the ones left to deal with the Biden border crisis without adequate personnel or other resources, as immigration is a federal responsibility.

The case before Judge Summerhays cites an alleged violation by CDC of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). APA mandates a notice and comment period for rule-making. By not going through the proper procedure, the states contend they will have to pay for social services for the migrants who enter the country. This is the same violation cited when the administration ended the Remain in Mexico policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols. MPP is a successful policy that was used in the previous administration. A federal judge in Texas overruled that decision. Today the Supreme Court will hear arguments in that case. Texas and Missouri sued the government for violating the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined twenty other states attorneys general last week to challenge the Biden administration’s decision to halt Title 42.

It is a huge victory but a temporary one. It is unclear what happens moving forward. It is not, however, good news for Team Biden.

The full contours of Summerhays’ forthcoming order are unclear. Attorneys for the states and for the federal government “will confer regarding the specific terms to be contained” in the court’s temporary restraining order “and attempt to reach agreement,” the court filing says.

Such a ruling likely is a bad sign for the Biden administration in a broader legal challenge to stop government plans to fully end Title 42 on May 23. More than 20 Republican-led states filed a lawsuit over those plans, and then sought this order when they learned the Biden administration began to scale back the use of Title 42 ahead of that date.

For those keeping track of such details, Judge Summerhays is a Trump appointee. The TRO is one-page and it was filed in Lafayette, La. The judge held an online status conference with the lawyers for the states and the CDC before issuing the TRO.

You can be sure the Biden administration will do whatever it can to continue the battle. We’ll see what happens next. May 23 is not far off at all.

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