The Trump administration's Title 42 policy of turning away migrants at the border due to an ongoing health emergency remains popular with Americans, even if the Biden administration has attempted to do away with it.
A new Politico-Harvard poll finds 55% of American adults oppose ending the use of the Trump-era policy, while just 45% side with President Joe Biden's desire to force it to expire.
The poll was conducted before Monday's potential ending of Title 42 expulsions under Biden's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but a Louisiana judge Friday issued an injunction to block the end of the order.
The order was put in place by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been estimated to have turned away 1.7 million asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the past two years.
Republicans have noted even talking about ending the Title 42 expulsions would lead to a flood of illegal migrants seeking to freely enter America under Biden's catch-and-release immigration policy.
The Department of Homeland Security estimated as many as 18,000 migrants per day will flood the southern border if Title 42 is taken down, according to Politico.
Harvard professor Emeritus Robert Blendon said the popularity of Title 42 exposes Congress' inability to reform immigration law to Americans' liking.
"They're taking something used to control epidemics and are fighting for it because they know there's no way to reach an agreement over immigration," Blendon told Politico. "Congress can't agree what to do, and they're using it as a fig leaf for a public health emergency measure."
Broken down by party, 81% of Republicans want to keep Title 42, while just 36% of Democrats say the same.
While the Louisiana judge's injunction keeps Title 42 in place, a March 4 D.C. Circuit ruling granted those legitimately fleeing violence can apply for asylum. The lead counsel in the D.C. case Lee Gelernt said the injunction cannot send illegal migrants back to danger, thus allowing them to stay in America, according to Politico.
The Politico-Harvard poll was conducted by SSRS of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, among 1,025 U.S. adults May 6-9. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
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