NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a two-week halt in the phasing out of pandemic-related restrictions on seeking asylum and raised doubts about the Biden administration’s plan to fully lift those restrictions on May 23.
For now, the decision is a temporary setback for the administration, but the judge staked out a position that is highly sympathetic with Louisiana, Arizona and 19 other states that sued to preserve so-called Title 42 authority, which, on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19, denies migrants a chance at asylum.