A US judge ruled the controversial immigration health policy known as 'Title 42' must stay preventing migrants from seeking asylum on the southern border
Migrants who had crossed the Rio Grande river into the U.S. wait to be processed by Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, Friday, May 20, 2022. The Eagle Pass area has become increasingly a popular crossing corridor for migrants, especially those from outside Mexico and Central America, under Title 42 authority, which expels migrants without a chance to seek asylum on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The provision denies migrants a chance to request asylum under U.S. law and international treaties on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Arizona and Louisiana led 24 states in challenging the plan to end the restrictions. Migrants crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas, knew little or nothing about the rule under which migrants have been expelled more than 1.9 million times since March 2020. They were largely from Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua and Venezuela — nationalities that have mostly been spared from the asylum ban because high costs, strained diplomatic relations or other considerations make it difficult for the U.S. to fly them home.