Title 42, a Trump-era public health order that strengthened border restrictions to combat COVID-19, is needed to protect the southern border and curb the uncontrolled influx of migrants, according to Oklahoma officials, Fox News informed.
John O’Connor, Oklahoma Attorney General spoke to Fox News about the effort of his state to keep Title 42 in place, saying that Oklahoma became part of a 21-state coalition lawsuit against the Biden administration and its intentions to repeal the legislation.
He also said that according to the coalition’s estimations the Biden administration has failed the nation when speaking about border control and immigration policies.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations have used Title 42, which went into effect in March 2020, to promptly deport migrants at the southern border owing to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in early April that Title 42 would be repealed on May 23 due to “an enhanced availability of tools to battle COVID-19,” and is deemed unnecessary.
Over 20 states have subsequently joined a lawsuit seeking a federal court to prevent Title 42 from being withdrawn, alleging that removing the public health order would exacerbate the border problem.
Kevin Stitt, the Governor of Oklahoma said that this effort is about securing the borders on the South, adding that if the power of the enforcement officers at the border to repeal migrants is taken away, that means that there are no borders.
Stitt continued that the US needs a strong border policy because having no borders means having no country at all.
Should Title 42 be lifted, the Department of Homeland Security has prepared a plan to deal with the probable inflow of migrants. In the lawsuit, the states, contend that the Biden administration has not managed to account for the costs of repealing Title 42, such as increasing state healthcare costs.
Within days, a federal judge is set to rule on the fate of the Biden administration’s intention to repeal Title 42.
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