In a 5-4 vote the US Supreme Court Tuesday allowed Title 42, a Trump-era deportation policy, to remain in effect. With the decision, the court put on hold a lower federal judge’s decision that would have ended the Title 42 policy last week. The court stated that this ruling does not preclude the federal government from acting in regard to the Title 42 policy.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Neil Gorsuch dissented. In the dissent Gorsuch wrote that the decision was “unwise.” Gorsuch argued that the public health arguments underlying Title 42 have lapsed and are no longer relevant. Gorsuch claimed that this is the states’ way of attempting to address the “immigration crisis” and that “[t]he current border crisis is not a COVID crisis.”

President Joe Biden has stated that federal government will comply with the court’s order and is preparing for the court’s full review in February 2023. Biden also stated that Title 42 is a public health order, not an immigration enforcement measure, that should not be extended indefinitely. Biden also called on Republicans to take this time to work with Democrats in passing reform measures to address challenges at the border.

Title 42, located formally under 42 USC 265, generally provides a Surgeon General with the power to suspend the introduction of persons and property to the US if there is a potential danger of a communicable disease from a foreign country. It allows the suspension of persons and property in the interest of public health.

The case will be argued further in February 2023 with a decision to come in June 2023.