Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy ended by Biden administration

Biden administration has done the needful. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has relayed of putting an end to Trump era immigration policy, “Remain in Mexico”, that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico and wait for their turn for hearings in US immigration court. The announcement was made few hours after a judge lifted the order that was in effect since December that said the rule must be reinstated.

The DHS said in a statement that program will be now unwound in a “quick, and orderly manner”. With the end of this immigration policy, no more people will be enrolled and those appearing in court will not be returned to Mexico for their next hearings. The policy “has endemic flaws, imposes unjustifiable human costs, and pulls resources and personnel away from other priority efforts to secure our border”, the department said.

Homeland Security had been largely silent on the timing of ending of the Trump era immigration policy, saying they had to “wait for the court to certify the ruling and for a Trump-appointed judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, in Amarillo, Texas, to then lift his injunction”. Last week, the supreme court had certified its ruling, with the policy’s critics being largely outspoken about the silent stand by Biden administration on the Remain in Mexico policy, demanding an immediate end to the policy. “It’s a zombie policy,” Karen Tumlin, founder of Justice Action Center, an immigration litigation organization, had said last week.

About 70,000 migrants were brought under the policy, known officially as Migrant Protection Protocols. This was from the entire duration from former President Donald Trump introducing it in January 2019 until Joe Biden suspended it in January 2021, on the first day of his office. With this Biden had fulfilled a key promise of his campaign. But then it was reinstated again and migrants travelling to the US were again halted at border.