US Chief Justice Roberts Places Emergency Stay on Title 42 as Migrants Rely on Kindness of Strangers

As the southern states of the United States faces an unprecedented influx of undocumented migrants, the US chief justice John Roberts placed an emergency stay on the removal planned for Wednesday of Title 42.

Title 42 was triggered by former US president Donald Trump citing the Covid-19 pandemic but was used to block migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua and other South American and Latin American countries.

At least 20 states, most of them Republican, filed petitions urging the government to not lift Title 42 citing concerns that it would lead to a massive spike in migrants entering the US via its southern borders.

Cities like El Paso in Texas had to declare a state of emergency as thousands of migrants entered Texas via Ciudad Juarez and were forced to sleep in the streets in freezing temperatures.

The states which went to the court cited an estimate by the Department of Homeland Security which said that migrants seeking asylum could triple up to 18,000 every day.

US officials say more than 2,400 migrants cross into El Paso every day.

White House Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that the Department of Homeland Security is prepared to contain the influx of migrants but did not elaborate on how it plans to do so.

Republican lawmakers, including House Republican Kevin McCarthy demanded that Title 42 be codified into law.

The Department of Homeland Security said: “Title 42 will remain in effect as a result of the high court’s stay order. Individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico. We will continue our preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts.”

The southern border of the United States remains closed for immigrants without visas for more than two years under Title 42 and it also prevents asylum seekers from presenting themselves at ports of entry and border patrol officials can turn them away without even allowing them to start an asylum application.

Rosa Falcon, an El Paso resident, who spoke to news agency AFP said it was heartbreaking to see children sleep in the biting cold on the streets of El Paso.

She said the migrants who have now been spotted sleeping on the streets, bus stops, parking lots and other public places have nothing but their clothes as their only possessions.

News agency AFP citing its own correspondent said that they saw 10 migrants cross into the US via a hole in the fence and they will join hundreds of others who will surrender to the officials, hoping that their case qualifies and following which they will be sent back onto the streets.

These migrants end up in the US hoping for a better life and often undertake perilous journeys, either through Panama’s dense Darien jungle or by wading through the Rio Grande river which separates the US and Mexico.

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