News / Human Rights

US Supreme Court agrees to review ‘Remain in Mexico’ immigration policy

Saturday, 19 February 2022 10:10 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 19 February 2022 8:48 PM ]

Asylum seekers who were returned to Mexico have reported sexual assault, kidnapping and torture in border cities and encampments. (File photo)

The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Biden administration can end a controversial Trump-era immigration policy that forces asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their applications are processed.

The so-called "Remain in Mexico" policy, officially titled Migrant Protection Protocols and implemented by the administration of former President Donald Trump, barred migrants arriving at the Mexican border from entering the US to apply for asylum.

Immigration advocates, including the American Immigration Council, argued that Remain in Mexico is a dangerous program that puts thousands of asylum seekers seeking humanitarian aid in harm’s way.

After the policy came into force at the beginning of 2019, tens of thousands of asylum seekers were forced to wait in unsanitary tent encampments for immigration hearings to decide their fate.

There have been widespread reports of sexual assault, kidnapping, and torture.

Soon after taking office, President Joe Biden sought to rescind the program. Texas and Missouri sued, arguing that the attempted repeal was illegal and that the number of migrants trying to enter the US skyrocketed as a result.

Over 240 advocacy groups urge Biden to end Trump-era migrant policies, restart asylum

More than 240 migrant advocacy organizations have urged US President Joe Biden to make good on his campaign promise to terminate Trump-era border policies.

The lower federal courts agreed and blocked the Biden administration's move. The administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn those rulings, but the court rejected its pleas and set the argument for mid-April. A decision in the case is expected in June.

In a brief order on Friday, Supreme Court justices announced they would hear arguments in April over whether the Joe Biden administration must continue implementing the policy or can terminate it.

More than 60,000 asylum-seekers were returned to Mexico under the policy. That was a departure from the previous practice of allowing those fleeing violence to cross the border and apply for asylum inside the United States.

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