Week of April 22–30, 2022

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration to stop the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from lifting Title 42, a pandemic-era health order used by federal immigration officials to expel migrants, including asylum-seekers, at the U.S.-Mexico border. The order, enacted in March 2020 by the Trump administration, has been used 1.7 million times to expel migrants. The CDC has the authority to enact orders like Title 42 under the 1944 Public Health Service Act to limit the spread of communicable diseases. The order is set to expire on May 23. Paxton’s lawsuit argues that the Biden administration didn’t follow the administrative procedure laws needed to halt Title 42. Texas has led the legal fight against the Biden administration’s immigration policies, filing numerous lawsuits that have led to judges overturning or altering those policies.

The Biden administration has begun to phase out a pandemic-related rule that has allowed migrants to be expelled without the opportunity to seek asylum. The rule was introduced by the Trump administration in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Asylum seekers have had their rights to seek protection under US law and international treaties violated by the rule, according to advocates. The rule is set to expire on 23 May, and 22 states are fighting in court to preserve it. Single adults from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador have been targeted under the rule because Mexico has agreed to take them back while the rule is in effect. However, Mexico will no longer take them back after the rule expires.

Mexican officials are concerned that the upcoming repeal of Title 42, a measure adopted under the Trump administration to tighten the US border during the pandemic, will result in a spike in migration and more profits for criminal gangs unless Washington takes more action to mitigate the impact. The US has said it will end the Title 42 order on May 23, which has effectively shut down the US asylum system at its shared 2,000-mile border with Mexico, allowing US authorities to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. Mexican officials have urged Washington to improve migrants' access to the US labor market and speed up processing of asylum requests to ease pressure on the border. They also called for the US to work more closely with Mexico to close down the financial networks used by criminal gangs to make money by exploiting migrants.

Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar has accused the White House of giving too much weight to “immigration activists,” as he urged the Biden administration to reconsider its decision to end the Trump-era deportation policy for migrants at the southern border. The policy, known as Title 42, allows for the immediate expulsion of migrants from the nation’s southern border without due process, citing the need to protect the homeland from the spread of Covid-19. While President Joe Biden has long promised to revoke Title 42, Democrats fear that repealing the policy could increase the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, which could expose the party to Republican attacks ahead of the November midterm elections. Cuellar, a centrist and one of the administration’s most vocal Democratic critics on border issues, expressed his concerns on Fox News Sunday.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has called on President Joe Biden to take executive actions on immigration after prospects of legislative action appear dim. The CHC members have urged Biden to designate and re-designate Temporary Protected Status for several Latin American, Central American and Caribbean countries, including Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, which would grant temporary protections to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants from those countries. They have also urged Biden to stand by his promise to end Title 42 border expulsions by May 23, expand access to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and expedite processing within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The push comes as lawmakers appear unlikely to reach agreement on broad immigration legislation ahead of the midterm elections.

The Supreme Court of the United States has considered whether the Biden administration can end a Trump-era border policy known as "Remain in Mexico," in a case that will test the White House's ability to set immigration policy. The program required certain non-Mexican citizens who entered the US back to Mexico while their immigration proceedings played out. Critics call the policy inhumane and say it exposes asylum seekers with credible claims to dangerous and squalid conditions. The court's three liberals backed the Biden administration, while the conservatives asked tough questions of the administration, indicating sympathy for lower court opinions that went against President Joe Biden. The case raises questions not only regarding immigration law but also a president's control over policy and his diplomatic relationships with neighboring countries.

The Biden administration aims to end the use of the Title 42 policy, which has been in place for more than two years, preventing hundreds of thousands of migrants attempting to enter the US through the US-Mexico border. This policy was created during the pandemic to allow federal health authorities to prohibit migrants from entering the country if it is determined that doing so could prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Critics of the policy claim it is more of an effort to restrict immigration rather than a public health strategy. The Biden administration is ending the policy citing "current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19," including vaccines that can be distributed to migrants arriving at the border. Migrants who cannot establish a legal claim to remain in the country face removal from the US and potentially other penalties.

Foreign immigration into the United States has been decreasing since its peak in 2016, according to Census Bureau data, and this is likely to exacerbate the ongoing labour shortage. Government policy and Covid-19 restrictions have contributed to the decline in immigration, with the number of immigrant visas granted having been reduced, and restrictions on international travel limiting the number of people entering the country. The Census Bureau reported that three major factors contributed to last year’s decrease in immigration: declining immigration of foreign-born people, increasing exits of foreign-born from the US, and changes in Puerto Rican movement after Hurricane Maria in 2017. However, even before the pandemic, net foreign immigration into the US had dropped by almost half since 2016. The decline in immigration coincides with the retirement of baby boomers, which will lead to no net gain in the working-age population in the coming decade without substantial immigration. This will present a significant challenge for businesses to retain, recruit, and maintain productivity with their employees.

US President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have held a “constructive” conversation about border security and immigration. Both countries are trying to stem the flow of illegal migrants along the southern border, many of whom are arriving from Central America. The call took place during a record-breaking month in border crossings and legal battles over Title 42 and the Remain in Mexico policy. The COVID-19 provision, which is used to limit the number of migrants who illegally cross into the US, expires in May, and it has become one of the hottest political and campaign issues. There is a deal to be had that would provide more funding for border security and create pathways to citizenship and status for undocumented people, however, compromise seems almost impossible due to partisan bickering.

Dame Sara Thornton, the UK's independent anti-slavery commissioner, has criticized the government's failure to prioritize anti-slavery work, calling it a "point of regret." Thornton, who stepped down from her role on 1 March, said that the UK was no longer seen as being at the forefront of efforts to tackle modern slavery, despite previously leading the way. The commissioner also expressed concerns over the decrease in funding for front-line services, as well as a backlog of unresolved cases. A Home Office spokesperson said that the UK remains committed to tackling modern slavery and is putting victims' rights into law with the Nationality and Borders Act. The government will set out a new strategy to tackle the crime later this year.