Suspense, pressure build at border over US asylum rules

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Suspense mounted at the U.S. border with Mexico on Tuesday about the future of restrictions on asylum seekers as the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower-court order to stop turning back migrants based on rules set in place at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Conservative-leaning states won a reprieve — though it could be brief — as they push to keep limits on asylum seekers, arguing that increased numbers would take a toll on public services such as law enforcement and health care, warning of an “unprecedented calamity” at the southern border in a last-ditch written appeal to the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice John Roberts granted a stay pending further order, asking the administration of President Joe Biden to respond by 5 p.m. Tuesday — just hours before restrictions are slated to expire on Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for enforcing border security, acknowledged Roberts' order — and also said the agency would continue "preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts.”

Migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law 2.5 million times since March 2020 on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19 under a public-health rule called Title 42.

The decision on what comes next is going down to the wire, as pressure builds in communities along both sides of the southwestern U.S. border.

In El Paso, Democratic Mayor Oscar Leeser warned Monday that shelters across the border in Ciudad Juárez are packed to capacity with an estimated 20,000 migrants who are prepared to cross into the U.S.

Despite the court stay Monday, the City of El Paso rushed to expand its ability to accommodate more migrants by...