Supreme Court keeps Trump-era immigration policy in place, with conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch dissenting: 'We are a court of law, not policymakers of last resort'

The policy of turning away asylum seekers at the border was kept in place by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Nineteen Republican-led states petitioned the Supreme Court to keep Title 42 after it expired last week. Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily halted the policy's termination and Tuesday's order is an extension of that pause.

The court will hear oral arguments on the dispute in February and there will be a pause until a decision is made by the end of June.

The court's three liberal justices voted against the request. He wrote that the court's decisions are not wise.

The current border crisis is not a case of Communism. Courts should not be in the business of creating administrative edicts that only apply to one emergency because elected officials have failed to address other emergencies.

He said that they were a court of law and not policymakers.

The move delivers a devastating blow to immigration advocates, who have been fighting for an end to Title 42 since the Trump administration invoked it in March 2020. The policy allows US officials to expel asylum seekers at the southern border based on public health concerns. More than two million people have been kicked out of the country.

Lee Gelernt, a lawyer, said that the Supreme Court has allowed Title 42 to remain in place while the case is ongoing, and that they continue to challenge the policy that has caused so much harm to asylum seekers.

The policy denies migrants the right to seek asylum in the US and leaves them in dangerous situations at the border according to immigration advocates. Title 42 can no longer be used as a public health response to the corona virus because it's being used as an immigration tool.

A federal judge ruled in favor of the advocates and ordered the Biden administration to end the policy by the end of the year. The administration was in agreement with it.

The Supreme Court was asked to keep the policy in effect by 19 Republican-led states. The states said that ending Title 42 would cause a crisis of unprecedented proportions at the border.

The Supreme Court is considering whether to allow states to intervene in the legal battle between immigration advocates and the government.

The administration will comply with the order and prepare for the court's review, according to a statement from the White House.

When Title 42 is eventually lifted, we will advance our preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way. Title 42 is a public health measure and should not be extended.