The White House pulls the plug on migrant protection protocols after a federal judge on Aug. 8 lifted an injunction requiring the continuation of the Trump administration’s anti-asylum policy.
Matthew J. Kacsmaryk
Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk’s action in the U.S. District of Northern Texas overturned his previous order that blocked the Biden administration from ending the MPP. That was before a June 30 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the president has the power to end the policy also known as “Remain in Mexico.”
The US Department of Homeland Security said the dismantling of the controversial program was already underway.
“DHS is committed to ending the court-ordered implementation of the MPP in a timely and orderly manner. Individuals are no longer newly enrolled in MPP, and individuals currently in MPP in Mexico will be unenrolled when they return for their next scheduled court date. Individuals deregistered from MPP will continue their removal process to the United States,” the agency said in an Aug. 8 statement. Press release.
The policy was implemented by the Trump administration in 2019 to counter a large number of migrants crossing the US southern border and to end the country’s asylum process. Since then, the MPP has been used to force tens of thousands of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases progress through the US court system. In Mexico, they were victims of abuse, extortion and even death.
Since then, the MPP has been used to force tens of thousands of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases progress through the US court system.
“The MPP has endemic flaws, imposes unjustifiable human costs, and diverts resources and personnel from other priority efforts to secure our border,” DHS said.
But the end of “Stay in Mexico” doesn’t mean the ordeal is over for many migrants facing harsher treatment at the border.
“DHS continues to enforce our country’s immigration and public health laws, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Title 42 Public Health Order, as required by court order,” the department said. “Individuals encountered at the Southwest border who cannot establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed or deported.”
As part of his strident anti-immigration platform, Trump implemented Title 42 in 2020 to summarily deport migrants to Mexico or their home countries using the COVID-19 pandemic as cover. It remains in effect by order of a federal judge and has resulted in approximately 1.8 million deportations asylum seekers and other immigrants seeking to enter the United States, according to the American Immigration Council.
Taken together, Title 42 and “Stay in Mexico” created chaos for those seeking to legally enter the United States.
The US Immigration Council estimates that 700,000 asylum seekers have been returned to Mexico since the implementation of “Remain in Mexico”.
Immigrant advocates have condemned the program for circumventing decades of U.S. asylum practice, including allowing asylum seekers to stay in the U.S. for the months and sometimes years it takes to get their case. be judged. This already slow system was further disabled by the Trump administration due to intentional understaffing.
Immigration advocates and rights groups have blasted Trump’s policies of placing asylum seekers in dangerous environments in Mexico where they face kidnappings, assaults, rape , murders and other crimes.
“So-called migrant protection protocols have always put human beings at risk and go against due process.
“So-called migrant protection protocols have always put human beings at risk and run counter to due process,” said Dan Gordon, vice president of strategic communications at the National Immigration Forum. “The MPP is not part of the orderly, safe and humane border policy that we need. Congress and the Biden administration must work together to process arrivals effectively and efficiently, treat migrants with dignity, and address the root causes of migration.
Church World Service applauded the latest development while denouncing the creation of the MPP.
“Rescinding this injunction is an affirmation of what American immigration policy can be, if our leaders choose to protect the legal right to seek asylum and uphold the dignity of our neighbors,” said Meredith Owen, director of policy and advocacy. “Staying in Mexico was an illegal attack on our asylum system. The policy has cruelly denied the rights of those seeking safety and put individuals and families at risk.
Refugee International issued a statement celebrating the end of the MPP but also urging Biden to act quickly to dismantle it.
“Now the administration must quickly bring those waiting in Mexico to the United States to continue their business,” the statement said. “We hope this marks the beginning of the end of dangerous outsourcing policies, a recommitment to the fundamental principle of refugee law of non-refoulement, and the fulfillment of a promise to rebuild a fair asylum system.
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