A federal judge has issued an order temporarily preventing the Biden administration from terminating the public health code’s “Title 42” clause before the stipulated date. Scheduled to close on May 23, the measure created in the Trump administration in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic allows immigration agents to expel illegal immigrants without the procedures of a formal deportation.

“The Court further concludes that the Plaintiff States have established a substantial threat of immediate and irreparable injury resulting from the early implementation of Title 42, including unrecoverable costs on healthcare, law enforcement, detention, education, and other services for migrants, and further that the balance of harms and the public interest both favor issuance of a temporary restraining order”, published in USA Today.

In that order, there is also the impediment for the government to take some measures. The Biden administration will not be able to intensify the immigration processes of people from the Northern Triangle countries (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) until “Title 8” replaces “Title 42”. Under “Title 8”, some immigrants can legally apply for asylum, or become eligible for other immigration aids, and conversely, others can be prosecuted for entering the country illegally.

As it was not clear what the government's plans would be in the face of the court order, a 90-minute meeting was held on Monday afternoon, April 25, between President Biden and seven leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). At that meeting, the president said that his administration would move forward with closing “Title 42” and that he would need the organization's help to defend and explain the government's immigration policy in public debates and in upcoming budget and legislative discussions.

Those in the meeting from the Biden administration included top advisers and officials Cedric Richmond, Susan Rice, Louisa Terrell, Julie Rodriguez and Cristobal Alex, as well as Office of Management and Budget Director Shalonda Young. Among the CHC members in attendance were Reps. Raul Ruiz, Nanette Barragan, Adriano Espaillat, Darren Soto.

“CHC members said they were glad to see the president ask to at least double the budget of U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services’ family reunification work. USCIS currently has a staggering backlog of 4 million people who are awaiting processing. Notably, members left the meeting believing the president will sign an executive order extending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for five more years — a big caucus priority. DACA provides undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children with protection from deportation and work permits, both on a renewable basis”, according to CBC News publication.

At the meeting, the president and his team also signaled openness to new executive actions to extend the “Temporary Protection Status” (TPS) to people from Honduras, Nicaragua, and other countries that have not been reassigned for several years. In addition, Biden signaled that he is looking at different options to forgive an unspecified but substantial amount of student debt for those with federally guaranteed loans.

CHC members said infrastructure, environmental justice and other immigration issues were also discussed.

“The Biden administration will be holding more meetings with Congress in the days ahead. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas plans to brief some lawmakers on Tuesday, while Terrell, the White House legislative affairs director, is set to meet with Senate Democratic chiefs of staff and other top policy aides to discuss immigration policy”, still according to the publication.