The Supreme Court temporarily halted the termination of Title 42 on Tuesday, allowing the Trump-era policy to remain in place until the justices hear a challenge from Republican-led states in February.
The policy, which was originally enacted at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, allows immigration officials to quickly expel migrants on public health grounds.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with immigration advocates last month who argued that the policy is no longer necessary and ruled that it will end on Dec. 21.
Chief Justice John Roberts put a temporary hold on Title 42’s termination on Dec. 19.
In Tuesday’s 5-4 ruling, Justices John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Clarence Thomas agreed to hear a challenge from Republican-led states during the February 2023 argument session.
Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the high court’s three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, in dissenting.
“The current border crisis is not a COVID crisis,” Justice Gorsuch wrote. “And courts should not be in the business of perpetuating administrative edicts designed for one emergency only because elected officials have failed to address a different emergency. We are a court of law, not policymakers of last resort.”