U.S. District Court Strikes Down Title 42

Judge says it did not rationally serve to protect public safety.

On 11/15/22, a U.S. district court struck down Title 42. The program will end on 12/21/22. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the directive, which has allowed border agents to expel millions of migrants without allowing them to seek asylum since it was issued in March 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge Sullivan said that because Covid-19 was already widespread in the U.S. by the time the policy was enacted, it did not rationally serve its purpose of protecting public safety.

“Title 42 was never about public health, and this ruling finally ends the charade of using Title 42 to bar desperate asylum seekers from even getting a hearing,” American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the case, said in a statement.

The ruling restores asylum seekers’ access to U.S. borders for the first time since 2020 and takes effect immediately. If you have any questions, please contact our office.