Mayorkas issues memo repealing Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' policy
October 29, 2021
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday released the Biden administration’s latest attempt to nix the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy that has roiled immigration and asylum advocates.
The policy, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, requires many asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for hearings to adjudicate their requests for safe haven in the U.S.
“MPP had endemic flaws, imposed unjustifiable human costs, pulled resources and personnel away from other priority efforts, and did not address the root causes of irregular migration,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “MPP not only undercuts the Administration’s ability to implement critically needed and foundational changes to the immigration system, it fails to provide the fair process and humanitarian protections that individuals deserve under the law.”
DHS released a four-page memo signed by Mayorkas sent to the respective leaders of the component agencies that deal with migrants and asylum seekers, as well as a lengthier document detailing the rationale for terminating the policy.
A court struck down President Joe Biden’s first attempt to nix the policy and the administration subsequently announced preparations to resume implementation in light of the ruling — outraging activists and Democrats who believe the policy is deeply immoral and contrary to international law.
Earlier this month a cadre of advocates staged a virtual walk out from a meeting with top members of the Biden administration to protest their decision to continue certain immigration policies implemented under the former president, including MPP.
Mayorkas in the memo stated that DHS “is fully complying with the District Court’s order,” even as the department continues to challenge it in court and is now seeking to formally unwind it.
DHS’ announcement Friday afternoon comes exactly a month after the department announced that it would be issuing a new memorandum designed to terminate the policy in a way that would better withstand legal muster. At one point, the Biden administration considered a revised version of MPP but Mayorkas said he determined against that idea.
“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 stated in his memo.
Mayorkas conceded that the policy “likely contributed to reduced migratory flows” but did so by “imposing substantial and unjustifiable human costs” to those forced to reside in Mexico while their claims were being processed.
“Significant evidence indicates that individuals awaiting their court hearings in Mexico under MPP were subject to extreme violence and insecurity at the hands of transnational criminal organizations that profited by exploiting migrants’ vulnerabilities,” the memo states.
The memo states the change is effective immediately, but it is sure to face additional legal challenges like the one that scuttled the prior attempt at repeal.
Source: https://www.politico.com/
