The Supreme Court ordered the Biden administration Tuesday to reimplement former President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires migrants to wait in Mexico until their immigration hearing in the United States.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas ordered the Biden administration to revive the policy, which had been formally ended by the Homeland Security Secretary this year.
The Biden administration had requested that the Supreme Court halt the order issued by the lower court. The Supreme Court denied Biden’s request in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines. Now, the “Remain in Mexico” policy must go into effect.
The policy has forced tens of thousands of non-Mexican asylum seekers to await their U.S. court date in Mexico, leaving them vulnerable to kidnappings, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to prevent this egregious policy from harming one more person and will use every tool at our disposal to oppose the Remain in Mexico policy, or any like it, and we urge the Biden administration to do the same,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, in a statement.
“People have a fundamental human and legal right to seek safety and asylum in our country, as millions have done throughout our nation’s history. President Trump’s remain in Mexico policy subjected thousands to unthinkable violence and deprived them of due process. This policy flies in the face of the values we aspire to as a nation.”
Sources: CNN 8/24/21; Feminist Newswire 8/17/21; Washington Post 8/24/21; National Immigration Law Center 8/24/21
