Yes….
You read that right….
The American Civil Liberties Union took the Biden Admin to court to disengage them from some of the Trump admin immigration policy at the US/Mexico border….
Since Biden took office in January, U.S. border officials have carried out roughly 350,000 expulsions, with nearly 50,000 families among those expelled, according to a Times analysis of the latest government data. Many were flown hundreds of miles laterally from where they crossed the border, sent in the dark with little warning to some of the most dangerous cities in northern Mexico.
Now, after months of pressure from advocates and a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the use of Title 42 against families, as well as an easing pandemic and indications of a leveling-off in border crossings, Biden administration officials have quietly agreed to changes that are narrow yet substantial — among them, an end to the lateral expulsion flights and expelling migrants late at night, which both exacerbate their vulnerability.…
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“We have made the decision that we need to save lives while we’re negotiating, even if it potentially gives the government some cover in keeping Title 42,” Gelernt told The Times. “Litigation is never a certain bet, and the government could revoke concessions it has made.”
Neither the lead Justice Department lawyer on the Title 42 lawsuit nor the Homeland Security Department provided comment. But publicly and privately, administration officials acknowledge that their position is unsustainable….
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Still, administration officials have resisted barring expulsions altogether at the border’s most dangerous spots, such as Tamaulipas, across from Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. And while top officials have agreed to stop lateral flights, there’s no deal on pausing expulsions via bus transfers, which risk spreading COVID-19 in the U.S. and Mexico and continue to endanger asylum seekers…
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Several federal judges have determined that the Title 42 policy is probably unlawful. Yet Biden officials and the policy’s critics are keenly aware of the political climate — and the current conservative leaning of the Supreme Court, said Sue Kenney-Pfalzer, Border and Asylum Network director at HIAS, a nonprofit refugee advocacy group.
When Title 42 is lifted, “there will be a lot of people wanting to cross,” she said. “They are afraid of the ‘bad publicity’ from Republicans saying, ‘Biden opened the border.’”….