Judge blocks end of Title 42 at U.S. southern border

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) A federal judge in Louisiana is refusing to end pandemic-related restrictions on migrants seeking asylum on the southern border. The judge on Friday blocked a plan by President Joe Biden’s administration to lift the restrictions next Monday. Migrants have been expelled more than 1.9 million times since March 2020 under federal Title 42 authority. The provision denies migrants a chance to request asylum under U.S. law and international treaty on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Arizona and Louisiana led 24 states in challenging the plan to end the restrictions.