A federal judge in Louisiana appears poised to step in as early as Friday to block the Biden administration from ending pandemic-related asylum restrictions later this month, something Republicans and some Democrats have pushed to do in Congress.
But any forthcoming ruling on the public health directive known as Title 42 may do little to quell debate about it on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are ready to use border management as a wedge issue ahead of midterm elections in November.
Lawyers for the Justice Department are scheduled to appear in court Friday in Lafayette, La., for a hearing on the plans to end the Title 42 directive on May 23. Officials from 21 Republican-led states asked a federal court to rule before then to keep it in place during a court fight, and the judge’s prior order in the case indicates he is leaning that way.
