Supreme Court keeps immigration limits in place indefinitely

Migrants from Venezuela line up in the cold weather for hot drinks and food from volunteers at a makeshift camp on the U.S.-Mexico Border in Matamoros, Mexico, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. In a ruling Tuesday, Dec. 27, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to keep pandemic-era limits on immigration in place indefinitely, dashing hopes of immigration advocates who had been anticipating their end this week. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

The Supreme Court is keeping pandemic-era limits on immigration in place indefinitely, dashing hopes of immigration advocates who had been anticipating their end this week.

In a ruling Tuesday, the Supreme Court extended a temporary stay that Chief Justice John Roberts issued last week. Under the court’s order, the case will be argued in February and the stay will be maintained until the justices decide the case.

The limits were put in place under then-President Donald Trump at the beginning of the pandemic. Under the restrictions, officials have expelled asylum-seekers inside the United States 2.5 million times and turned away most people who requested asylum at the border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The restrictions are often referred to as Title 42 in reference to a 1944 public health law.