A federal judge in Louisiana on Friday barred the administration of President Joe Biden from blocking a sanitary measure imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic to expedite the deportation of immigrants crossing the U.S. land border without visas. .
The Biden administration wanted to stop this Section 42 mechanism on May 23, but Republican governors in 24 states opposed to the Biden administration’s decision went to court.
“The court concluded that the complaining states met the conditions” for the temporary maintenance of this mechanism, Judge Robert Summerhayes wrote in his ruling on Friday.
The “plaintiff states” argue that ending the measure would lead to more border crossings and therefore more immigrants residing illegally in the US.
Section 42 is a public health measure enacted in 1893 to protect the United States from several epidemics such as cholera and yellow fever of the time. Since then, it has been used very rarely.
In March 2020, the administration of former President Donald Trump activated this healthcare system, which allows for the immediate removal of immigrants without residence permits who are stopped at the land border.
