What happens at the border if the Trump-era policy Title 42 is lifted?

TEXAS - A federal judge blocked President Joe Biden's move to get rid of a trump-era border policy that was set to be lifted this week. 

So, what is Title 42? What could happen at the border if it's ended, and where does the legal battle go from here? 

Dr. Eddy Carder, a constitutional law professor at Prairie View A&M, joins FOX 7's John Krinjak to discuss Title 42 and what could happen if the policy is lifted.

JOHN: Well, tomorrow, the Biden administration was set to end a Trump-era border policy known as Title 42. That is, until a federal judge stepped in to keep it in effect, at least for now. The move comes as lawmakers, including some Democrats, expressed concern the border crisis could get worse if Title 42 is lifted. Here to talk about what all this means is Eddy Carder, a constitutional law professor at Prairie View A&M. Dr. Carter, thanks for being here.

EDDY: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

JOHN: So when it comes to the border, we keep hearing about this policy called Title 42. First of all, what exactly is it?

EDDY: Title 42 is a piece of legislation on the federal level that was implemented in the interest of protecting public health with regard to other nations that had health crises whose citizens might try to come to the U.S. And so Title 42 was passed in an effort to protect the health of our nation. And it allowed for the immediate expulsion of migrants back to their home countries. However, Title 42 in March of 2020 was implemented by the Trump administration not really as a public health issue, but as a public immigration policy. And so that's really the dilemma that we have currently.

JOHN: So the Biden administration essentially wants to get rid of Title 42. What, in your view, would effectively happen if it is lifted?

EDDY: There are a number of impacts that would occur with regard to the rescinding of Title 42. One would be a very practical impact. The other would be an economic impact. The practical impact would be that 18,000 immigrants, it is estimated on a daily basis, would make their way into the U.S. or attempt to make their way into the U.S. That stands in distinction to the current number of 9000 immigrants per day, 8 to 9000. So immigration numbers would really be significantly increased. Another impact would be the economic impact on the states located along the southwest border. There would be a need for increased facilities to house the migrants. There would be an increased need for enforcement officials or health care officials. Increased need for educational costs as well as humanitarian costs. So these increases would place a significant burden upon the states along the southwest border of the U.S.

JOHN: So as we mentioned, on Friday, a federal judge took action to keep Title 42 in effect. Talk to us about this ruling and kind of what led up to it.

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EDDY: Well, what essentially occurred was the CDC had intended to rescind Title 42 on May 23. However, 24 states argued that really the rescinding of Title 42 would cause a substantial burden to the states. It would increase health care costs, educational costs and humanitarian obligations. And the federal judge essentially agreed and said that the states had established that the removal of Title 42 would indeed constitute a substantial burden to the states. And so he issued an injunction so that Title 42 could not be rescinded by the CDC. So with his injunction that was issued, Title 42 remains in place. But as a result of the injunction and the judge's decision, what happened was the federal government, the Biden administration in particular, immediately initiated an appeal which will extend the debate regarding the future of Title 42.

JOHN: So this could be quite the drawn out legal process?

EDDY: There's no doubt about it. This is going to be a very long, drawn out legal process. There's going to be continued debate with regard to whether or not the federal government can rescind Title 42. And the Biden administration has indicated that it intends to use this time that has been allotted by this decision to prepare for what it perceives as an inevitable rescinding of Title 42 and to get policies in place so as to address increased migrant numbers and increased migrant needs when that happens. So this is going to be a drawn out process, most likely.

JOHN: All right. Dr. Eddie Carter, constitutional law professor at Prairie View A&M. Dr. Carter, as always, thanks so much for being with us, it is good to see you.

EDDY: Absolutely. Thank you.