WASHINGTON, April 26, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - A US federal judge on Monday
temporarily blocked President Joe Biden from ending a policy allowing the
government to quickly expel migrants at the southern border during the
pandemic.

  The Biden administration had been on track to lift the measure, known as
Title 42, on May 23 -- a decision that sparked uproar among Republicans and
many Democrats, as well as advocates for tougher border controls.

  The US District Court in Louisiana said after a videoconference with
lawyers it had "announced its intent to grant the motion" originally filed by
Missouri, Louisiana and Arizona to stay the termination.

  "The parties will confer regarding the specific terms to be contained in
the Temporary Restraining Order and attempt to reach agreement," it said in
the ruling.

  The order prevents the administration from taking any action before a
hearing on May 13 to determine whether Title 42 can be lifted.

  The three Republican states that brought the lawsuit -- later joined by 18
others -- celebrated a major win they hoped would avert the unprecedented
influx of migrants predicted by Homeland Security officials.

  "This is a huge victory for border security, but the fight continues on,"
said Eric Schmitt, the attorney general for Missouri.

  His Arizona counterpart Mark Brnovich said he was "so proud" of the lawyers
in his administration in a tweet confirming the ruling.

  "We will continue to fight the Biden administration's open border
policies," he said.

  The lawsuit was filed after the White House announced in early April it
would lift the measure following months of pressure from migrant advocates
who said it denied people their right to seek asylum.

  - 'Self-inflicted calamity' -

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the order was "no
longer necessary" due to "an increased availability of tools to fight Covid-
19."

  Enacted at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 under former president
Donald Trump, the measure required border agents to turn away anyone who
crossed illegally into the United States.

  Since then, migrants have been expelled more than 1.7 million times under
the policy.

  Republicans, backed by many border-state Democrats up for reelection in the
November midterms, warned that dropping Title 42 would exacerbate what they
describe as a migration crisis.

  "This suit challenges an imminent, man-made, self-inflicted calamity: the
abrupt elimination of the only safety valve preventing this administration's
disastrous border policies from devolving into an unmitigated chaos and
catastrophe," the complaint says.

  US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who chairs the powerful judiciary
committee, told Republicans in a letter Monday he had asked the White House
for a classified briefing on the expected effect of lifting Title 42.

  "The status of the CDC's Title 42 public health order -- which is not an
immigration enforcement authority -- does not absolve the Senate of our
responsibility to act on long-overdue immigration reform legislation on a
bipartisan basis," he said.

  A group of nine Republican lawmakers was touring a section of the border as
the court deliberated, to keep up pressure on Biden over his immigration
policies.

  "This is no longer about parties, this is about people. Everybody in this
crisis, everybody's world is turned upside down," said Tony Gonzales, whose
district stretches from San Antonio to El Paso.