It’s been a little over four months since a federal judge in Louisiana ruled to keep Title 42 in place. That’s the pandemic-era protocol that restricts asylum at the border. Lawyers in California are still moving forward on a legal challenge to that decision. 

The lawyers are with Immigration Law Lab and other border legal aid groups. They tried to intervene in the suit in May on behalf of an asylum seeking family but were initially denied.

Monika Langarica — one of the lawyers — says they’re appealing that decision 

And we’re appealing the nationwide scope of the injunction, we are still seeking to ensure that that order only be limited to the states that brought this lawsuit. 

That would be Texas, Arizona and a host of non-border states. Langarica’s motion to intervene argues that any ruling keeping Title 42 in place should only apply in those states. Langarica's group first filed their motion to intervene in August and submitted their response to government and state arguments this month. The court could will next decide whether they can have oral arguments. 

The Biden administration tried to end the protocol in May and is appealing the Louisiana decision now. But Langarica says even as that plays out in court, Title 42 removals could be on the rise. A recent Reuters report cited unnamed U.S. and Mexican officials, who said the Biden administration is asking Mexico to accept more migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela as Title 42 removals.