President Joe Biden’s government is resuming a program that would send certain migrants and refugees to Mexico to await hearings on their claims.
During the Trump administration, the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), sometimes known as “Remain in Mexico,” was implemented, and it was successful in reducing undocumented immigration.
Trump’s Policies are Back
The DHS stated Thursday the program will resume on or around December 6, after coming to an agreement with Mexican colleagues. Shortly after being inaugurated, Biden terminated the practice, calling it “hazardous” and “cruel.”
In June, it was formally terminated by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a Biden appointee. Mayorkas said, “whatever benefits the project may have provided are now far exceeded by the obstacles, hazards, and expenses that it presents.”
Given the VP is at 28% approval. And given her performance on the border and immigration (23% approval). And… given how Buttigieg has handled the supply chain crisis to this point… on what planet is this a “very strong ticket”? https://t.co/XJgYG4WXbS
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) November 28, 2021
However, a judge found in August that he and other officials violated federal law when it came to discontinuing practices.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump nominee, ruled the program became “a vital instrument in resolving the current crisis at the Mexico border and maintaining integrity to the immigration process.”
He directed the administration to relaunch the initiative in good faith.
A Victory for the Border States
The massive border crisis recreated by the Biden administration has been blamed on climate change by border czar Vice President Harris, but Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said it is the climate in the White House that truly caused the inhumane conditions. https://t.co/cwd212PaXP
— Newsmax (@newsmax) December 4, 2021
The ruling came after Texas and Missouri sued the Biden government over the MPP’s discontinuation. Following the verdict, US authorities stated they were planning to do so, but were hampered by Mexico’s refusal to join a new alliance.
Mexico’s foreign relations minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said in a release the US agreed to resolve humanitarian issues expressed by Mexican authorities. As a result, he claimed, Mexico agreed to continue its participation in MPP “for humanitarian purposes and on a short term basis.”
In a communication, DHS employees were told the US government “made a series of changes” to the program in order to please Mexico.
According to the statement, the government would work with Mexican partners to ensure asylum seekers deported south of the border are provided with accommodations and safe transportation to and from court appearances.
MPP applies to any undocumented person from a Western Hemisphere country, other than Mexico. This is apart from children who arrive without a responsible parent and people who are deemed “at higher danger of harm in Mexico because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
It’s possible the program won’t last long. Mayorkas announced in October he would end it as soon as the courts reversed Kacsmaryk’s temporary restraining order.
This is despite the fact the block was sustained by both an appeals court and the Supreme Court. A temporary injunction is designed to be provisional. Kacsmaryk or a higher court could lift it.
The legal battle between the US government and the two states who sued is still going on. The National Migrant Justice Center slammed the resumption.
