(NewsNation) — The Department of Homeland Security has five weeks to prepare for the end of a COVID-19 pandemic-era policy that allowed officials to turn away migrants at the border.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the public health policy known as Title 42. That same judge issued another order Wednesday granting a stay — that is, a period of time before his previous order takes effect. That means DHS now has until Dec. 20 to transition away from Title 42, in part, by sending additional resources to the border, court records show.

“While the stay is in effect, DHS will continue to process individuals in accordance with the CDC’s Title 42 public health order and expel single adults and family units encountered at the Southwest Border,” DHS said in an official statement Wednesday.

Art Del Cueto is the Vice President of the Border Patrol Council. He has worked as a Border Patrol agent for 18 years. Now, he says agents can’t catch a break.

“We can’t catch a break. I’ll tell you what, it’s not just for us, it’s the American public that’s not going to be able to catch a break with Title 42 going away,” Del Cueto said.

He says the policy going away sends a clear message to drug smugglers that they can flood one area of the border with ease.

“Now you’re going to have the agents more away from the law enforcement aspect and more into the administrative aspect that is involved in transport, processing, many times hospital watches. Once you do that, now it is a 100% free for all for the drug cartels to start bringing their drugs into the country,” Del Cueto said.

Title 42 was first instituted by former president Donald Trump and continued by President Joe Biden.

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said in a written opinion Tuesday the policy was “arbitrary and capricious.”