The decision to install the procedure known as “Article 42”, albeit temporarily, defused a crisis in front of President Joe Biden’s administration, with thousands of immigrants gathering at the southern border in the hope of canceling the article and allowing asylum requests to be registered.
The court accepted, by a vote of five to four, a petition from 19 states that said they would see a massive influx of immigrants if “Article 42” was revoked, making the border with Mexico open.
The court said the policy introduced under former President Donald Trump would remain in place pending its decision on a lawsuit in February challenging a scheme to overturn Section 42.
After the Supreme Court’s decision, he urged the White House on Tuesday to reform the US immigration system.
“To fix a truly broken immigration system, we need Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform measures,” White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The ruling gave a deadline for the Biden administration, which had accepted another ruling by a lower court, that Article 42 could not continue to be applied to prevent people crossing the southwest border from seeking asylum.
US authorities intercepted about 2.5 million people trying to cross the US southern border in the 12 months to November.
In March 2020, the Trump administration activated Article 42, which allows for health reasons to prevent illegal immigrants who are stopped at land borders from entering the country.
But there are rare exceptions for some nationalities such as Ukrainians since Russia invaded their country, as well as for unaccompanied minors.
Human rights activists and experts consider that the procedure violates international law, and they consider, in particular, that preventing a potential asylum seeker from submitting a request in this sense is “inhumane”.
In their opinion, the measure encourages migrants to cross borders clandestinely and take increased risks to reach the United States by crossing deserts or dangerous rivers.
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