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Network for Public Health Law
Public Health Emergency: Legal Preparedness and Response

Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas

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Overview

Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas (U.S. District Court, D.C., September 16, 2021): A federal district court granted a group of asylum-seeking families’ motions for preliminary injunction, preventing deportation of the asylees, and allowing the families’ cases to proceed as a class action against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In response to the pandemic, HHS issued an emergency regulation permitting the CDC to temporarily prohibit people from certain countries from entering the U.S. when there is a danger of introducing a communicable disease. The court found that the CDC lacks authority to require the deportation of people claiming asylum resulting from the imposed prohibition of entry to potential asylees, because that directly conflicts with federal statutes establishing processes for those seeking asylum. The impact of the pandemic did not persuade the court because testing, vaccines, and other mitigation measures can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission during border processing. Read the decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – November 15, 2021.

View all cases under “Public Health Emergency: Legal Preparedness & Response.”