Judge says CDC can’t end the Title 42 rule that allows for quick expulsion of migrants

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot move forward with a plan to discontinue pandemic-related emergency rules that allow U.S. border agents to rapidly expel migrants to Mexico or their home countries on public health grounds, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled Friday.

Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Biden administration from ending the restrictions, known as Title 42, on May 23, when the CDC had planned to stop authorizing the border expulsions.

Agreeing with arguments presented by Republican attorneys general who sued the Biden administration, Summerhays, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said the CDC had improperly terminated Title 42, a public health authority enacted during World War II. 

In his 47-page ruling, Summerhays said the CDC should have allowed the public to comment on Title 42’s termination before finalizing it. “Simply put, the CDC has not explained how the present circumstances prevented the CDC from issuing the Termination Order through the required notice and comment process,” he wrote.

If upheld, Summerhays’ ruling will require the CDC to continue authorizing the border expulsions for some time, since the notice-and-comment process for federal regulations typically takes months to complete. 

Representatives for the CDC did not respond to a request to comment on Friday’s court order. In a statement Friday, the Justice Department announced it planned to appeal Summerhays’ ruling, saying the CDC’s decision to end Title 42 was a “lawful exercise” of its authority.

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