A week after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against a Trump administration directive ordering it to stop deporting unaccompanied children under the pretext of preventing the spread of the coronavirus, the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday night filed a notice to appeal to a higher court. 

“There is no basis for allowing this cruel, unprecedented policy to take effect, given the harm that these young children would face if sent back.”
—Lee Gelernt, ACLU

The Associated Press reports the Justice Department asserted the November 18 injunction by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan “likely will have an irreversible impact on public health” by straining the ability of hospitals and other medical facilities and personnel to adequately manage the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Citing spiking Covid-19 cases in border communities in Arizona and Texas, the DOJ warned of the potential risks of transporting “potentially infected” children through airports and other transit hubs. 

Sullivan’s injunction involved Title 42, which the Trump administration unsuccessfully argued allows for the removal of non-U.S. citizens who carry diseases. Sullivan ruled that while Title 42 allows the government to deny such people entry into the country, it does not provide for their expulsion. Stephen Miller, a […]

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