EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Tensions remain high at the U.S-Mexico border amid uncertainty over the future of restrictions on asylum-seekers. The Biden administration on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court not to lift the limits before Christmas. The U.S. government made its plea in a filing a day after Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary order to keep the pandemic-era limits on migrants in place. The restrictions had been slated to expire Wednesday. The federal government acknowledged that ending the restrictions will likely lead to “disruption and a temporary increase in unlawful border crossings.” But the government asked the court to reject efforts by a group of conservative-leaning states to maintain a measure that allows officials to expel many but not all asylum-seekers.
US asks court to end asylum limits, with a short delay
![Migrants trudge along the border fence to a waiting bus after turning themselves in to the Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8031a3e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3689x2075+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2019%2F03%2F25%2Fimg_7647_wide-d9e08f560883bf1f3e47595d5f5e396c8f3d2bb8.jpg)
John Burnett
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NPR