On Friday, a federal judge stopped the Biden administration’s attempt to remove Title 42, which was created by former President Trump in March 2020 to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic health order was used to remove over a million migrants who were located at the border, since it gave US Border Patrol agents the legal right to remove asylum seekers without offering them legal process.

Title 42 was planned to end on Monday, May 23, but Louisiana U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays ruled Title 42’s restrictions will remain in place, meaning any migrants seeking asylum in the US at the borders will have no rights to enter the country without a lengthy process. Judge Summerhays is an appointee of former President Trump.

The judge ruled Title 42 will stay in place until active lawsuits brought by twenty-four Republican-held states resolve their lawsuit in the courts. Arizona, Louisiana and Missouri are leading the lawsuit, which demands Title 42 remain law. The lawsuit was filed after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lifted the pandemic public health order due to COVID-19, with the 24 states claiming the provision must stay in place due to the “wave of illegal migration and drug trafficking.” The trial is expected to be a lengthy, drawn-out process.

“The court made the right decision to keep Title 42 in place. Ending Title 42 would be a complete disaster for a nation already suffering from the Biden Border Crisis,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chair of the Senate Republican Conference, said in a statement. “We have a humanitarian, public health, and national security emergency happening at our southern border. Our border patrol agents are overwhelmed by a stampede of illegal immigrants crossing the border every day. The President was warned over and over not to end Title 42. He ignored those warnings.”

The Biden administration disagrees, and the Department of Justice filed an appeal Friday, immediately after Judge Summerhays’ ruling.

President Biden had promised during his run for president that his administration would change the immigration system and end Title 42. However, the policy was kept in place after President Biden took office due to the surging pandemic.

In a strongly-worded statement from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the court’s ruling was called unacceptable.

“Today’s federal court ruling on Title 42 is outrageous, ridiculous, and erodes our asylum system,” said Raul Ruiz (D-Calif, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “Title 42 is a public health emergency policy that can be initiated and ended by an administration. It is not a way to manage the border. Furthermore, Title 42 denies asylum seekers their legal rights under American law to due process in the U.S. and goes counter to international humanitarian norms and values.”

The battle over Title 42 and migrants at the US southern border is politically complex, for numerous reasons. If the policy remains, migrants who face political torture may suffer death or imprisonment in their countries. If Title 42 is overturned, it’s expected there will be a very large flood of immigrants arriving.

Simultaneously, the next presidential race is looming, and Title 42 is a political match ready to burn. If the Biden administration does overturn the policy, this would be a major boon for the Republican political party, as migrants cross the border to seek political asylum in massive numbers. And, if Title 42 remains, the core of the Democratic Party will be dampened by not protecting the rights of migrants seeking political asylum.

Numerous immigrant rights organizations believe Title 42 is illegal since it stops people from exercising their rights to claim asylum in another country.

The number of migrants seeking to enter the US since the activation of Title 42 in March 2020 is massive. US Customs and Border Protection reports over 1.8 million migrants were removed from the southern border of the US and denied entry, blocking their legal right to apply for asylum.

In a statement from migrant rights group Oxfam, senior legal advisor of the organization Diana Kearney said the judge’s ruling is dangerous for migrants.

“This decision to resuscitate Title 42 fuels the flame of our country’s worst xenophobic impulses, ignores our nation’s legal obligations to respect fundamental human rights, and exposes some of the world’s most vulnerable people to incredible violence,” she said. “We will continue working with our partners on behalf of all asylum seekers to ensure the Biden administration follows through on its commitment to end this racist policy.”