Washington [US], > December 28: The US Supreme Court has voted to keep in place a controversial Trump-era policy that blocked thousands of people from crossing the US-Mexico border.
Title 42 gives the government power to automatically expel undocumented migrants seeking entry.
The potential lifting of the policy had prompted concerns that the number of migrants at the border would rise.
The Biden administration said it would comply with the ruling but called for reform of immigration policy.
"We are advancing our preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 eventually lifts and will continue expanding legal pathways for immigration," it said in a statement.
The Title 42 policy - applied about 2.5 million times since March 2020 - was originally due to expire on 21 December but, two days before the deadline, Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts blocked its termination.
The court's decision was in response to an emergency appeal from some Republican-led states who had asked for the policy to remain in place.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to extend the temporary stay ordered by Justice Roberts while the case moved forward.
Additionally, the nine Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments on whether the states can intervene in defence of the policy.
Arguments are likely to take place in February or March 2023. A decision is due by the end of June.
The decision will be a blow to immigration activists, who had sued to end Title 42, arguing it was contrary to international obligations to give people asylum.
Proponents of Title 42 and officials in many border communities, however, argued that lifting the policy would lead to an increase in arrivals at the border, putting a strain on resources.
In court documents filed last week, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the government recognised that the end of Title 42 orders would probably "lead to disruption and a temporary increase in unlawful border crossings".
"The government in no way seeks to minimize the seriousness of that problem," she added. "But the solution to that immigration problem cannot be to extend indefinitely a public-health measure that all now acknowledge has outlived its public-health justification."
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
