EA US judge has overturned a controversial deportation rule that, with reference to the corona pandemic, enables migrants to be turned back quickly at the border with Mexico. Federal judge Emmet Sullivan ruled on Tuesday in the capital Washington that the rule introduced under former President Donald Trump was “arbitrary” and violated government procedures.
Under what is known as Title 42, hundreds of thousands of people have been deported from the southern border of the United States. The procedure was introduced in March 2020 under the refugee and immigration policy hardliner Trump. Accordingly, migrants apprehended at the US border must be turned away immediately in order to prevent the further spread of the corona virus.
Human rights organizations sharply criticized the regulation. They argue that people are being deprived of the right to apply for asylum under some pretext.
Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, still stuck to the rule for a long time. In April, the government then announced that it wanted to lift the rule in May. But that was blocked by a federal judge in southern Louisiana after a lawsuit by conservative-governed states, so Title 42 remained in effect. Now it has been overturned by Washington federal judge Sullivan. The Biden government could appeal against it.
Migrant numbers could now swell
A repeal of Title 42 could lead to a further increase in the arrivals of refugees and migrants trying to reach the US via Mexico. This year, more than 200,000 people have been apprehended at the border with Mexico every month. The number has increased significantly under Biden.
Refugee and migration policy is a highly charged political issue in the United States. Trump’s Republicans accuse Biden and his Democrats of letting people into the country uncontrolled and thus harming the United States.
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