鈥楻emain in Mexico鈥�: Supreme Court enables Biden administration to end controversial policy
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration has the power under U.S. immigration law to end the Trump administration鈥檚 鈥淩emain in Mexico鈥� policy.
In its , the court rejected arguments from attorneys general in Texas and Missouri in the聽Biden v. Texas聽case that claimed the policy is required to remain in effect if the government does not have the resources to detain every person seeking asylum at the southern border. The Supreme Court鈥檚 action reverses the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit聽and sends the case back to district court to further evaluate the administration鈥檚 memo ending the policy.
鈥淭he draconian 鈥楻emain in Mexico鈥� policy is a human rights failure,鈥� said Stephanie M. Alvarez-Jones, staff attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center鈥檚听Immigrant Justice Project. 鈥淭he policy dumped tens of thousands of people into precarious, life-threatening conditions in Mexico, forcing them to wait in dangerous border towns while their cases were pending in U.S. immigration courts. The primary goal of the 鈥楻emain in Mexico鈥� policy was to keep people seeking refuge out of the U.S., no matter the cost to human life or due process.鈥�
Officially known as the聽聽(MPP), 鈥淩emain in Mexico鈥� is a Trump-era immigration program that forces asylum seekers seeking protection at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their cases are pending in U.S. immigration courts.
Legal wrangling over the rule began immediately upon its implementation in 2019. Two weeks after the government returned the first person under the policy, the 人兽性交, in partnership with the ACLU and the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, filed a lawsuit,鈥�Innovation Law Lab v. Wolf, challenging its legality on behalf of affected asylum seekers and six legal service providers.鈥�
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In October 2020, the 人兽性交 filed an鈥痑dditional鈥痩awsuit,聽Immigrant Defenders Law Center, et al. v. Mayorkas. That challenge alleged that trapping tens of thousands of asylum seekers in dangerous zones in Mexico deprived them of access to legal assistance and other tools needed to meaningfully present their claims. 鈥�
鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling is an important first step towards ending a horrific, racist policy designed to put asylum seekers in harm鈥檚 way,鈥� Alvarez-Jones continued. 鈥淧olicies like 鈥楻emain in Mexico鈥� and Title 42 disproportionately impact Black and Brown migrants. People arriving at the U.S. border seeking refuge deserve access to safety and to be treated with dignity. The Biden administration must keep its promise to end this catastrophic policy as soon as possible and provide relief for the tens of thousands of people who were subjected to it.鈥�
Top picture: Children play as families live in tents at the Movimiento Juventud 2000 shelter April 9, 2022, in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico. Refugee migrants from Central and South American await at the camp to seek asylum in the United States. (Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
