DHS to Reinstate 'Remain in Mexico' Policy in November
The Department of Homeland Security announced that it is ready to reinstate the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy by mid-November after a Supreme Court upheld the immigration policy in response to a lawsuit from Texas and Missouri.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has been working to abolish the program by a different method.
The lawsuit from the two states claimed that the administration's attempt to remove the policy was illegal and harmful, according to a Fox News report.
Meanwhile, the DHS has appealed the ruling in the lower courts. In a statement, the department said they are taking the necessary steps to follow the order, which requires them to reimpose the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) in good faith. They added that they are working to do so despite their appeal, according to toa USA Today report.
'Remain in Mexico' Policy
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration established the MPP and was expanded in 2019.
The policy orders migrants to be sent back to Mexico, instead of being released into the U.S. as they await their immigration proceedings to be heard.
Aljazeera reported that around 70,000 asylum seekers had been subjected to the policy during Trump's administration. The Biden administration had terminated it earlier this year. However, it formally ended in June before the court ruling ordered a reversal.
Critics and immigration advocates had expressed their opposition to the reimposition of the policy, saying that the program has exposed migrants to violence and kidnappings in dangerous Mexican border cities, where drug cartels operate.
A Washington, D.C.-based rights group, Human Rights First, noted that at least 1,544 cases of murder, rape, torture, and other assaults had been reported against asylum seekers in Mexico as of February this year.
Eleanor Acer, the organization's senior director of refugee protection, said that restarting any version of "the Trump administration's notorious 'Remain in Mexico' policy" will cause huge suffering to migrants.
Acer added that the policy is a recipe for continued cruelty, disorder, and violations.
Reimposition of MPP
Temporary immigration hearing facilities are being rebuilt, while COVID restrictions and protocols are underway, according to DHS.
USA Today reported Mexico has concerns regarding the reimplementation of the policy, such as migrants' due process and their legal assistance. There were also concerns regarding their security.
Mexico also wants cases to conclude within six months as their condition to reinstate the program, adding that migrants be provided hearing dates and times accurately.
Mexico is also calling for exemptions for particularly vulnerable populations and coordination on locations and times of day that migrants are returned to Mexico.
U.S. officials said the renewed MPP policy will be applied to people who are not qualified for Title 42 expulsions.
Title 42 allows the government to prevent the introduction of individuals during certain public health emergencies, according to Olga Bryne, the immigration director at the International Rescue Committee.
The Trump administration had used an interpretation of Title 42 to issue public health order during the pandemic to expel migrants at the border, according to an ABC News Go report.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Supreme Court Orders Biden Admin. To Resume 'Remain in Mexico' Policy - from NBC News