Tag: Remain in Mexico

July 2

July 2, 2021

Despite Biden’s efforts to wind down MPP, 4,668 migrants are being categorically left out–those who went through the entire asylum process and lost their immigration case. Some advocates are questioning whether those asylum applicants had been given a fair hearing as immigration courts were shut down because of COVID-19, and virtual hearings presented difficult challenges, such as inconsistent or a lack of technological access. While the government is claiming that these applicants have already been given due process, lawyers on the ground say otherwise, claiming living conditions and the pandemic made it practically impossible to effectively engage in your own defense.

Tags: Coronavirus, Immigration Courts, Remain in Mexico

June 22

June 22, 2021

The Biden administration is scaling up its dismantlement of MPP, allowing those asylum seekers who had had their cases closed or removed in absentia to come to the U.S. to pursue their original asylum claims. Since February, around 12,000 migrants have been able to enter the U.S. with pending MPP cases, and this change in policy should greatly scale up the number of migrants allowed to pursue their asylum claims from within the U.S. Still, for many asylum seekers, this policy change comes far too late, many migrants under MPP being victims of rape, kidnapping, and assault. The Biden administration has been criticized for its slowness in dismantling MPP and restoring proper access to asylum seekers.

Tags: Asylum, Remain in Mexico

June 20

June 20, 2021

TRAC of Syracuse University released new data revealing a significant slow down in asylum cases being transferred out of MPP and over to U.S. immigration courts. During the month of May, only 1,988 cases were transferred out of MPP, which is down 55% from the 4,476 cases transferred out the previous month. It seems it is becoming more and more difficult to locate and identify the migrants living in border towns who should be allowed entry into the U.S.

(Image Source: TRAC)

Tags: Asylum, Immigration Courts, Remain in Mexico

June 1

June 1, 2021

The U.S. formally terminates the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico”, or MPP, policy. The program had been on a ‘pause’ since near the beginning of Biden’s presidency, and has now been formally put to rest because of its inability to “adequately or sustainably enhance border management,” according to a DHS memo. Title 42 still remains in place.

Tags: Remain in Mexico, U.S. Policy

March 8, 2021

March 9, 2021

The infamous tent camp in Matamoros where Remain in Mexico enrollees awaited entry to the US has been dismantled. No more migrants are being registered to the camp, and those left have been relocated, according to DHS.

Tags: Remain in Mexico

March 5, 2021

March 9, 2021

15,000 of the 25,000 asylum seekers eligible to enter the United States as the Biden administration rolls back the Remain in Mexico program are already in line, according to the UN.  

Tags: Asylum, Remain in Mexico

February 24, 2021

February 26, 2021

UN agencies began processing individuals and families enrolled in the Remain in Mexico program from the Matamoros migrant camp for entry to the United States. Both the US and Mexican governments have asked the UN to aid in the process, and the International Organization for Migration is administering Covid tests to migrants. 

Tags: Asylum, Border and Migration Politics, Remain in Mexico

February 18, 2021

February 26, 2021

A Honduran father and son were among the first Remain in Mexico enrollees to be admitted into the U.S. under the Biden administration. While in Mexico, the father was kidnapped, beaten, and held for ransom.

Tags: Asylum, Remain in Mexico

February 16, 2021

February 26, 2021

Although the Mexican government promised to provide upwards of 3,500 jobs for migrants in the Remain in Mexico program, according to the Mexican Secretary of Labor only 64 were actually employed due partially to the fact that many migrants were never issued work permits.  

Tags: Asylum, Remain in Mexico

February 11, 2021

February 16, 2021

The Biden administration will soon begin admitting migrants enrolled in the Remain in Mexico program. The plan starts slowly at three ports of entry, targets those who still have active cases in US immigration courts, and will be based on the date of enrollment in the program, with exceptions made for especially vulnerable migrants.

Tags: Asylum, Border and Migration Politics, Remain in Mexico, U.S. Policy

February 4, 2021

February 4, 2021

The Supreme Court granted requests from the Biden administration to remove arguments in two cases (Mayorkas v. Innovation Law Lab and Biden v. Sierra Club) that questioned the legality of the “Remain in Mexico” program and Donald Trump’s national emergency border wall-building declaration. The conservative court might have upheld Trump’s policies had he remained in office, but will now most likely dismiss the cases. 

Tags: Emergency Declaration, Fencing, Litigation, Remain in Mexico

February 2, 2021

February 2, 2021

President Biden released executive orders creating a task force on family separation and calling for a review, with intent to end, “safe third-country” agreements, Title 42, the Remain in Mexico program, and other Trump policies restricting migration. The administration has not yet committed to ending these policies. One order calls for a new policy framework to address migration’s root causes in Central America.

Tags: Border and Migration Politics, Expulsions, PACR and HARP, Remain in Mexico, Root causes, Safe Third Country Agreements

January 20, 2021

January 20, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement announcing a suspension of new enrollments in the Migrant Protection Protocols or “Remain in Mexico” Program. It directs migrants currently subject to “Remain in Mexico” to stay put in Mexico for the time being.

Tags: Asylum, Remain in Mexico