Biden administration defends Trump-era migrant expulsions, citing "serious" COVID-19 risk

The Biden administration on Wednesday vigorously defended a Trump-era emergency order that U.S. border authorities have used to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants without screening them for asylum, arguing the unprecedented policy is still needed to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Sharon Swingle, a Justice Department lawyer representing the administration during a nearly two-hour hearing before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, said the migrant expulsion policy, known as Title 42, is rooted in "scientific expertise." She warned that its sudden termination could increase coronavirus transmission inside Border Patrol facilities and pose a "serious danger" to public health.

Swingle called the possibility of the court requiring the government to process all migrants, particularly single adults, under regular immigration procedures an "alarming specter."