(NewsNation) — The Department of Justice has responded to a stay issued by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts that temporarily halts the expiration of Title 42.
According to Tuesday’s filing, the DOJ opposes the controversial border policy but asks to give lawmakers more time to come to a different resolution before ending it.
“The government recognizes that the end of the Title 42 orders will likely lead to disruption and a temporary increase in unlawful border crossings. The government in no way seeks to minimize the seriousness of that problem. 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,” the filing says.
The DOJ is urging the court to consider keeping the Supreme Court stay in place for now, pushing for it to remain in effect until Dec. 27.
Title 42 allowed border officials to turn away migrants seeking asylum due to public health emergency measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy was first put into place under the Trump administration in the spring of 2020.
With Title 42 initially set to expire Wednesday, towns across the southern border in Texas have been preparing for an expected surge in migrants crossing into their communities.
Officials say by Wednesday they could see up to 6,000 migrants each day in El Paso alone, and hundreds are released to the streets each day because there isn’t enough capacity to process and house them. Other border towns, like Eagle Pass and Laredo, are also bracing for the worst.
Title 42 has turned away migrants roughly 2.5 million times at the border since 2020.