The continuation of the public health order over the past two years thrust the typically apolitical C.D.C. into the heated immigration debate.
The agency had been under growing pressure from Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, to not only end the rule but also provide justification for why it was necessary. Public health experts have questioned the order’s value in containing the coronavirus, especially at this point in the pandemic. The Biden administration began offering vaccinations to undocumented migrants at the border this week.
News of the decision broke on Wednesday; it is expected to face legal challenges.
When the C.D.C. explained in August why it was extending the order, Covid-19 cases were averaging more than 60,000 a day, the highly transmissible Delta variant was causing more hospitalizations, and the number of deaths caused by the virus was increasing.
Currently, case numbers have fallen sharply in most of the United States, and the C.D.C. has loosened many restrictions. The average number of cases on Thursday was less than 28,000 a day. An Omicron subvariant, BA.2, could cause another surge in the United States in the coming months, though it does not appear to be causing widespread severe illness in Europe, where caseloads are higher.
The White House and Department of Homeland Security have deflected questions about the policy in recent months to the C.D.C., which said little about its rationale for extending the order.