Biden to Reportedly Restart Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' Policy Next Week
21:00 GMT 24.11.2021 (Updated: 21:58 GMT 24.11.2021)
© AP Photo / Eugene Garcia
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The Migrant Protection Protocols, informally termed the 'Remain in Mexico' program, allows US officials to block foreign individuals from entering the US from Mexico for the duration of their immigration proceedings. The MPP calls for the individual to return to Mexico, where the government will give them "appropriate humanitarian protections."
US President Joe Biden is seeking to reboot the MPP and subsequently start turning away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, according to a new report from Axios.
Citing two government immigration officials, the report detailed that Biden's version of the so-called Remain in Mexico program will include COVID-19 vaccine opportunities for migrant adults. The jab is simply an offer, and would not be required otherwise.
The policy will initially be reimplemented in San Diego, California, and at the Texas border cities of El Paso and Brownsville, according to one Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official.
DHS spokesperson Marsha Espinosa stated that the timeline of reinstating the MPP will be up to the Mexican government.
"We cannot do so until we have the independent agreement from the Government of Mexico to accept those we seek to enroll in MPP," Espinosa said in a quoted statement. "We will communicate to the court, and to the public, the timing of reimplementation when we are prepared to do so."
So-called vulnerable populations will be exempt from the program, although it is unclear who will fall into that category, per the report.
The push to reimplement the policy comes in accordance with an August decision by US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a federal judge appointed by former US President Donald Trump.
The Texas-based judge argued that the Biden administration and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas "failed to consider several critical factors" before halting the program.
For example, career DHS personnel warned that suspension of the MPP and other related policies "would lead to a resurgence of illegal aliens attempting to illegally cross the border," according to Kacsmaryk's ruling.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court rules against the Biden administration in its attempt to end the "Remain in Mexico" program, a controversial Trump-era border policy. SCOTUS refuses to block a lower-court ruling that requires the gov't to reinstate the policy.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) August 24, 2021
https://t.co/q2RFvRZ7wh pic.twitter.com/rliqBKxLDR
The Supreme Court later rejected the Biden administration's request to block the lower court's decision.
