Biden Administration Terminates Trump-Era ‘Remain in Mexico’ Rule for Asylum-Seekers

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Friday that he had rescinded the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program, which required asylum-seeking immigrants to the United States to await court proceedings in Mexico.

“After carefully considering the arguments, evidence, and perspectives presented by those who support re-implementation of MPP, those who support terminating the program, and those who have argued for continuing MPP in a modified form, I have determined that MPP should be terminated,” Mayorkas said in a memorandum.

The introduction of MPP had reduced migration flows but did so by imposing substantial and unjustifiable human costs on those individuals who were waiting for the decisions in Mexico, he added.

However, the new memorandum to terminate MPP will not take effect until the current injunction from the Texas court is lifted and the Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release that it is required to restart the MPP program as ordered by the court.

While DHS continues to contest the ruling, it has been engaged in discussion with the Mexican government on the issue and has issued contracts to build temporary court facilities in Texas, the release said.

In August, a US District Court in Texas ordered the Biden administration to restart MPP followed by the Biden administration attempt fight this order in the US Supreme Court, which ruled against this bid to end the policy.

President Joe Biden halted the MPP program through an executive order immediately after being sworn into office on January 20. The memorandum noted that as of May 25 about 11,200 migrants enrolled in MPP have been processed in the United States under Biden's plan to process them in a phased and orderly manner.