A health rule imposed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that has blocked most asylum seekers at the US border with Mexico must stay in place, a judge ruled Friday.
Title 42, the colloquial name for an order that can effectively prevent anyone without a visa from entering the United States, even to claim asylum, was due to expire on Monday.
"They also contend that the transition back to immigration enforcement... will result in an increase in immigration 'parolees' in the Plaintiff States. The rule allows for the immediate, without-cause removal of any foreigner or non-resident trying to enter the country without a visa. "Today's unfortunate decision says that the government can suspend asylum with no notice at all, but can't restore normal immigration law without going through a lengthy and complicated process," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior policy adviser for the American Council on Migration, told AFP.
With no legal penalty for anyone expelled under the rule, many who are deported return to try again, often in ever-more dangerous circumstances.