(Bloomberg) -- A U.S. Supreme Court justice put a four-day hold on a ruling that would reinstate a Trump-era policy requiring asylum seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico for their cases to be processed.
The administrative stay, issued by Justice Samuel Alito, gives the court more time to resolve a request from President Joe Biden's administration for a longer reprieve.
The policy, established by then-President Donald Trump in 2018, has forced almost 70,000 asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico while their applications are processed.
Biden's Department of Homeland Security rescinded the so-called “remain in Mexico” policy on June 1. Texas and Missouri sued to challenge the rescission, and U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that the government's explanation for the change was inadequate under the federal law that governs administrative agencies.
Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, ordered the government to reinstate the policy by Saturday. Three Republican-appointed appellate judges then refused to block that order, saying they agreed with Kacsmaryk's reasoning.
The Biden administration is now asking the high court to leave the rescission intact while the legal challenge goes forward.
Alito, who handles emergency matters from Texas, said he was issuing the stay “so that the full court can consider the application.”
Texas and Missouri, backed by other Republican-led states, say the remain-in-Mexico policy prevents migrants from filing asylum claims they don't plan to pursue and then disappearing inside the U.S.
Biden administration lawyers say Southwest border crossings -- currently at historic highs -- began surging while the program was still in place. They contend that many asylum seekers have abandoned legitimate claims because deplorable health and safety conditions make waiting in Mexico too risky.
The case is Biden v. Texas, 21A21.
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