- In a statement, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch clarified his position on emergency response in the pandemic era.
- Gorsuch called it “the greatest violation of civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country.”
- His statement came in response to a Republican-led effort to extend Title 42, the immigration control policy.
As the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spreads across the United States in 2020, the expedited deportation of asylum seekers and other immigrants is part of a broader effort to protect the nation from the pandemic. There was Title 42, a restrictive immigration policy that
The measure, initially implemented by the Trump administration and expanded under President Joe Biden, expired this month. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Republican-led states to keep the system in place.
In an eight-page statement in response to the lawsuit, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was at a loss for words. He said the country’s response to the COVID-19 emergency was “the greatest violation of civil liberties in the country’s peacetime history.”
“Administrative officials across the country have issued emergency orders on a breathtaking scale. Governors and local leaders have issued lockdown orders and forced people to stay home. Businesses and schools, public and private, have closed. I did,” Gorsuch wrote. statementwas released on Thursday.
Gorsuch has long been critical of the restrictive COVID-19 response. Associated Press report. In January 2022, she became the only judge to refuse to wear a mask, forcing Judge Sonia Sotomayor to participate in virtual oral arguments. Sotomayor has diabetes and is at high risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Gorsuch warned that “concentration of power in the hands of a very few” does not lead to “sound government”.
“One lesson may be this: Fear and the need for safety are powerful forces. It can lead to a cry for a leader or expert who claims to be who he is, if we just do what he says we can solve everything and it is an irresistible force. I can prove that,” he wrote.