A federal court has dealt a blow to the Biden White House’s intention to roll back a pandemic-era border policy that limits border asylums for migrants entering the U.S. from the southern border.
A U.S. District Court in Louisiana granted a temporary restraining order filed by a handful of states, which was led by Arizona and its attorney general, Mark Brnovich, to pause the rollback and keep the policy named Title 42 authority in place.
The decision came Monday, about a month before Title 42 was due to end on May 23.
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control deemed it no longer necessary to keep the health order in place, citing current public health conditions and the availability of tools to fight COVID-19.
The policy went into effect under President Donald Trump in March 2020. Since then, migrants trying to enter the U.S. have been turned away more than 1.7 million times.
Brnovich was enthusiastic in the immediate wake of the decision.
“The Biden administration cannot continue in flagrant disregard for existing laws and required administrative procedures,” Brnovich said in a statement.
The White House has not yet weighed in on the rollback’s pause.
The next hearing has been set for May 13.