Title 42 Preserved, Border Catastrophe Delayed

What happened: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Biden administration must keep in place pandemic-era Title 42 until it reevaluates the case in February. The policy implemented in March 2020 allowed the federal government to expel illegal migrants without allowing them to claim asylum.

The state of the border: New data show that the month of November saw the highest-ever number of border encounters—over 233,000. In 2022, over 2.3 million illegal immigrants were apprehended at the border (nearly the population of Chicago). Forty percent of them were expelled under Title 42.

From Biden: Though the president pushed to end Title 42, calling its expiration “overdue,” he signaled that the federal government would enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling. Biden has promised to pursue a more lax approach to immigration than his predecessor and proposed a plan to grant citizenship to most of the 11 million illegal immigrants living in America (nearly the population of Ohio).

A national security crisis: Over 100,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended at the border this past year. Cartel-operated human trafficking rings continue to operate through the border. Plus, 98 illegal immigrants at the border were identified or suspected to be terrorists.