Washington – In a major blow to immigration activists and squashing hopes of thousands of migrants, the US Supreme Court voted to keep in place the controversial Title 42, the Trump-era policy that gives the government power to automatically expel undocumented migrants seeking entry.

The potential lifting of the policy has prompted concerns that the number of migrants at the US-Mexico border would see a rise.

The Biden administration said it would comply with the ruling but called for reform of immigration policy.

Tuesday’s ruling preserves a major Trump-era policy that was scheduled to expire under a judge’s order on Dec. 21. The case will be argued in February and a stay imposed last week by Chief Justice John Roberts will remain in place until the justices make a decision.

"We are advancing our preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 eventually lifts and will continue expanding legal pathways for immigration," the current government said in a statement.

Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator for Louisiana, said removing Title 42 "would have made our border crisis worse, and the White House seemed willing to let that happen".

The limits, known as Title 42 in reference to a 1944 public health law, were put in place under then-President Donald Trump at the beginning of the pandemic, but unwinding it has taken a torturous route through the courts. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempted to end the policy in April 2022, but a federal judge in Louisiana sided with 19 Republican-led states in May to order it kept in place. Another federal judge in Washington said in November that Title 42 must end, sending the dispute to the Supreme Court. Officials have expelled asylum-seekers inside the United States 2.5 million times on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Miguel Colmenares, a Venezuelan migrant in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, said: "It breaks my heart that we have to keep waiting."

"I don't know what I'm going to do, I haven't got any money and my family's waiting for me," the 27-year-old told Reuters news agency.

The Title 42 policy - applied about 2.5 million times since March 2020 - was originally due to expire on 21 December but, two days before the deadline, Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts blocked its termination.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to extend the temporary stay ordered by Justice Roberts while the case moved forward.

Additionally, the nine Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments on whether the states can intervene in defence of the policy. Arguments are likely to take place in February or March 2023. A decision is due by the end of June.

The use of Title 42 to quickly expel migrants depends largely on Mexico’s willingness to accept them. Right now Mexico takes expelled migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Venezuela, in addition to Mexico, but not other countries, such as Cuba. Most asylum seekers who cannot be sent to Mexico are not expelled.

Biden is scheduled meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador in Mexico City next month.
-BBC/AP/Reuters