COVID border restrictions on migrants to stay after U.S. Supreme Court order - Reuters

WASHINGTON/CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court connected Monday said COVID-era restrictions astatine the U.S.-Mexico borderline that person prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum should beryllium kept successful spot for now, siding with Republicans who brought a ineligible challenge.

The restrictions, known arsenic Title 42, were implemented nether Republican erstwhile President Donald Trump successful March 2020 astatine the opening of the COVID-19 pandemic and gave borderline officials the quality to rapidly expel migrants to Mexico without a accidental to question U.S. asylum.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had campaigned connected overturning Trump's hardline migration measures earlier taking bureau successful 2021 but kept Title 42 successful spot for much than a year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this year that Title 42 was nary longer needed for nationalist wellness reasons, and the Biden medication has said it wants it to extremity but volition abide with immoderate tribunal rulings.

A national justice past period ruled Title 42 was unlawful successful effect to a suit primitively brought by asylum-seeking migrants represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. The justice acceptable the restrictions to beryllium lifted connected Wednesday, Dec. 21.

But a radical of 19 states with Republican attorneys wide sought to overturn that determination by intervening successful the lawsuit and connected Monday took their petition to the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.

Hours later, Chief Justice John Roberts successful a little bid issued a enactment that volition permission Title 42 successful spot until further announcement from the court. The parties successful the ineligible quality person until Tuesday astatine 5 p.m. ET (2200 GMT) to respond, the tribunal said.

After Robert's action, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Title 42 "will stay successful effect astatine this clip and individuals who effort to participate the United States unlawfully volition proceed to beryllium expelled to Mexico."

The Biden medication had been preparing for Title 42 to extremity connected Wednesday and property caput Karine Jean-Pierre said connected Monday that the White House was seeking much than $3 cardinal from Congress to wage for further personnel, technology, migrant holding facilities and proscription astatine the U.S.-Mexico border.

The propulsion for further resources came arsenic U.S. authorities had been preparing for the anticipation of 9,000 to 14,000 radical per time trying to transverse into the United States if Title 42 was lifted, Reuters and different outlets person reported, astir treble the existent rate.

The Biden medication has been weighing plans to hole for Title 42's end, with authorities officials privately discussing respective Trump-style plans to deter radical from crossing, including barring azygous adults seeking asylum astatine the U.S.-Mexico border.

DHS past week updated a six-pillar plan that calls for the expanded usage of a fast-track deportation process if Title 42 is terminated. The revised DHS program besides suggests determination could beryllium enlargement of ineligible pathways for migrants to participate the state from abroad, akin to a program launched for Venezuelans successful October.

BORDER CITIES OVERWHELMED

Since Biden took bureau successful January 2021, astir fractional of the grounds 4 cardinal migrants encountered astatine the U.S.-Mexico borderline person been expelled nether Title 42 portion the different fractional person been allowed into the United States to prosecute their migration cases.

Mexico accepts the instrumentality of lone definite nationalities, including immoderate Central Americans and, much recently, Venezuelans.

For months, El Paso, Texas, has been receiving ample groups of asylum-seeking migrants, including galore Nicaraguans who cannot beryllium expelled to Mexico. On Saturday, the city's politician declared a authorities of exigency to determination migrants from metropolis streets arsenic temperatures had dropped beneath freezing.

U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat whose South Texas territory borders Mexico, has said U.S. borderline officials told him that an estimated 50,000 radical are waiting successful Mexico for the accidental to cross.

"If Title 42 remains successful place, we indispensable proceed waiting," said Venezuelan migrant Lina Jaouhari, who said she had attempted to participate the United States from Ciudad Juarez connected Dec. 1 but had been sent backmost to Mexico nether Title 42. "It won't bash immoderate bully to effort to transverse again if we cognize they volition nonstop america back."

In El Paso, shelters person struggled to supply for arriving migrants adjacent arsenic galore yet are headed to articulation relatives successful different parts of the United States.

Rescue Mission of El Paso, a structure adjacent the border, past week housed 280 people, acold beyond its 190-person capacity, with radical sleeping connected cots and aerial mattresses successful the chapel, room and league rooms, said Nicole Reulet, the shelter's selling director, successful an interrogation with Reuters.

"We person radical wherever we archer them, 'We person nary room,'" she said. "They beg for a spot connected the floor."

Reporting by Ted Hesson successful Washington and Jose Luis Gonzalez successful Ciudad Juarez; Additional reporting by Jackie Botts successful Oaxaca City, Richard Cowan successful Washington and Lizbeth Diaz successful Tijuana and by Nate Raymond successful Boston; Editing by Stephen Coates and Bradley Perrett

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