West Virginia joins lawsuit challenging the termination of Title 42

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - West Virginia has joined 20 other states in suing the Biden administration for its plan to rescind the public health policy Title 42 during what the Attorney General calls the worst border crisis in decades.

The attorneys general said rescinding Title 42 will worsen the unprecedented crisis at our nation’s southern border.

“This irresponsible move by the Biden Administration shows utter disregard for protecting our Southern Border,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “First Biden terminated the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy, now it’s Title 42 – time and again this administration shows it has failed to act to protect our homeland.”

The policy has been in effect since March 2020 and has been used by both the Trump and Biden administration to turn away thousands of migrants to try and keep communicable diseases, like COVID-19, out of the country.

The attorneys general argue that revoking the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

The lawsuit alleges that revoking Title 42 will create a surge at the southern border, overwhelming law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations as well.

The attorneys general say they are asking a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to force the Biden administration to keep Title 42 in place until it conducts the notice and comment period required under the APA and adopts a policy that is not arbitrary and capricious.

Attorney General Morrisey joined this Arizona-led lawsuit with his counterparts in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming.