Washington DC, US
Reuters
The United States has formally ended the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy, which forced tens of thousands of Central American asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for US court cases, according to a US Department of Homeland Security memo sent to agency leaders on Tuesday.
The administration of President Joe Biden paused the program, known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, shortly after he took office on 20th January. Since then, more than 11,000 migrants enrolled in it have been allowed to enter the United States to pursue asylum claims, a DHS official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Migrants who travelled to northern Mexico seeking asylum in the United States, are pictured at a migrant encampment in Matamoros, Mexico, on 18th February, 2021. PICTURE: Reuters/Daniel Becerril/File photo.
Biden, a Democrat, has reversed many of the restrictive immigration policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican, saying Trump failed to honour US asylum laws. Republicans have criticised Biden’s actions, including ending the MPP program, saying he encouraged an increase in migrant arrivals at the US-Mexico border in recent months.
US Border Patrol apprehensions at the south-western border reached the highest monthly levels in 20 years in March and April. Apprehensions in May were similar, according to preliminary figures shared with Reuters.
Despite rolling back some Trump border policies, Biden has left in place a March, 2020, health order known as Title 42 that allows US authorities to rapidly send migrants caught at the border back to Mexico during the pandemic.
Advocates contend the policy cuts off access to the US asylum system for many migrants caught at the border while Biden officials say it is needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The MPP decision comes after a 2nd February Biden executive order called for US agencies to review the program, first launched in 2019, and consider whether to terminate it.
The memo formally ending MPP, issued by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, said the program did not “adequately or sustainably enhance border management,” noting that border arrests increased at times while it remained in place.
“Moreover, in making my assessment, I share the belief that we can only manage migration in an effective, responsible, and durable manner if we approach the issue comprehensively, looking well beyond our own borders,” Mayorkas wrote.
