Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr
ATLANTA — Georgia has joined 19 other mostly Republican-led states in suing the Biden administration over the imminent termination of a policy that allows border officials to turn immigrants away due to COVID-19.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Louisiana, challenges a decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end enforcement of Title 42 health policies effective May 23. The CDC introduced the policy in March 2020 just as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to spread across the country.
“In a move that is as hypocritical as it is dangerous, the Biden administration has declared the public health emergency over for migrants planning to enter our country illegally, but not for Americans, who are still forced to wear a mask on airplanes to wear,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Thursday.
“The lifting of Title 42 in the midst of an unprecedented border crisis poses an imminent threat to our national security, jeopardizes our communities and places a tremendous strain on our law enforcement officials.”
President Joe Biden recently announced the end of the policy following pressure from immigrant advocacy groups and some Democrats.
But other Democrats have joined Republicans in criticizing the administration for repealing Title 42 without having a plan for how to deal with the expected influx of immigrants.
The lawsuit aims to prevent the administration from repealing the policy. In particular, it is alleged that the abolition of Title 42 was arbitrary and capricious, and unlawfully circumvented the notification and comment requirements.
States joining the lawsuit alongside Georgia include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Utah.
This story is available through a news partnership with the Capitol Beat News Service, a Georgia Press Educational Foundation project.
