TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Monday, Jun 05, 2023

The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, explained

The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, explained

The policy, which is also known as migrant protection protocols, was in front of the Supreme Court this week

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Biden v. Texas, a case revolving around the controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy. Justices are expected to issue a ruling this summer.

Here’s what you need to know about the policy and the surrounding debate:

What is the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy?


The “Remain in Mexico” policy is officially known as the migrant protection protocols. First implemented by the Trump administration in January 2019, the protocols allow the United States government to return non-Mexican asylum-seekers (who entered the U.S. via the southern border) to Mexico to await immigration proceedings.

Although the Biden administration suspended the policy in January 2021 — and it was subsequently terminated in June 2021 — it was reinstated in early December because of a court ruling. U.S. officials again began sending non-Mexican asylum-seekers to Mexico.

Migrant protection protocols are only applicable to those from the Western Hemisphere. There are numerous other exemptions — it can’t be applied to unaccompanied minors, for example.

The Biden administration has made adjustments to the policy, clarifying who is exempt from it, said Danilo Zak, policy and advocacy manager for the National Immigration Forum. They’ve exempted pregnant women, the elderly and those who might be harmed because of their gender identity.

How has the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy impacted migration?


Experts say that the policy was intended to deter foreign nationals from immigrating to the United States. “It was instituted by the Trump administration as one in a series (of measures) to disincentivize individuals and families from seeking asylum in the U.S.,” said Giulia McPherson, Jesuit Refugee Service’s director of advocacy and operations.

Ordinarily — that is, prior to the implementation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy and Title 42, the piece of public health code that allows Customs and Border Protection officials to turn away migrants at the border — people looking for asylum would usually present themselves at a port of entry, experts say. If in the course of a credible fear interview with a United States official, it was established that the person might face torture or persecution in their home country, they would be allowed to stay in the U.S. as their case made its way through the system.

But the “Remain in Mexico” policy means that, even after passing their credible fear interview, asylum-seekers are sent to Mexico — “oftentimes to live in the same dangerous circumstances they were trying to escape,” said McPherson.

Because violence and insecurity are “systemic throughout northern Mexico, particularly in the border towns near ports of entry,” she said, many asylum-seekers have ended up dropping their claims and have ended up migrating to other parts of Mexico.

Has it stopped undocumented migrants from coming to the United States?


Experts emphasize that while policies like “Remain in Mexico” and Title 42 are intended as deterrents, they haven’t actually led to a reduction in the number of border crossings. In fact, despite the continued implementation of Title 42 and “Remain in Mexico” under the Biden administration, the number of border crossings is approaching record highs.

In March, for example, when policies were in place, border officials arrested 210,000 migrants, the highest number in over two decades, Reuters reported. 2019, the first year that migrant protection protocols were in place, also saw a surge in migration, according to Pew Research Center.

“What we’ve seen is that the numbers have not subsided,” said McPherson. “People are fleeing desperate situations. We need to address the problems in the asylum and immigration system in the U.S. and the root causes of migration, as well.”

Additionally, because the “Remain in Mexico” policy encourages migrants to steer clear of border patrol agents, experts say more are attempting to cross into the U.S. undetected. This means that they’re taking longer, more circuitous journeys, often through dangerous terrain, putting their lives at greater risk.

“The majority want to follow the legal process and make their claim legally. All we’re asking is that the U.S. government honor that right and that wish,” said McPherson, who added that, under Title 42, many migrants are being turned away without the opportunity to go through a credible fear interview.

Why do immigration advocates believe it’s important to lift the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy?


They cite a number of reasons: For one, the United States is a signatory to the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees. Some legal experts believe “Remain in Mexico” violates this convention.

Human rights advocates also say that the “Remain in Mexico” policy is a violation of the United States’s own laws. More than that, they believe it’s inhumane.

Not only do many asylum-seekers who have been returned to Mexico wait in squalid conditions where they lack basic necessities, they are vulnerable to violence, including sexual assaults, kidnappings and murder, said Zak.

Of those seeking care at Medecins Sans Frontieres’s clinics in Nuevo Laredo between January and October 2019, for example, 80% reported they had experienced violence and 75% said they had been kidnapped.

Experts also say that waiting in Mexico as one’s case winds its way through the United States’ system makes it difficult to impossible to pursue one’s asylum claim. These individuals have “extremely limited access to counsel” in the United States, said Zak, and often don’t receive orders to appear in court or can’t get there. The result is that many have been subject to “in absentia removal orders,” he said, adding, “These are concerns that persist no matter what administration is administering the policy.”

Why do some politicians and others want the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy to stay in place?


Some policymakers say that it’s essential for the safety and security of Americans and that it reduces the number of migrants entering the United States illegally. When a 2021 court ruling reinstituted the policy, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott applauded the move, calling it a “major victory for our state, our nation, and for the safety and security of our communities.”

Describing the policy as “thoughtful” last month in comments he presented to a House subcommittee on border security, Timothy Roemer, director of Arizona’s Department of Homeland Security, said, “When applied properly, MPP helps protect the lives of every Arizona community and those throughout the nation.”

He claimed the policy helps law enforcement officials better protect the country from drugs and “transnational criminal organizations who continue to profit off vulnerable populations.”

Despite record numbers of border crossings that have occurred under both “Remain in Mexico” and Title 42, Roemer assured the House subcommittee that these policies help keep “the situation at the border under control.”

How might ending the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy impact the situation at the southern border?


Experts say that they don’t expect the numbers of people trying to reach the United States to change if the policy is lifted. Migrants fleeing their home countries are “not concerned with the policies they might find at the U.S. border,” said Zak. “They’re concerned with … trying to find safety.”

Advocates also say that the United States could begin to assess asylum-seekers’ claims. “We have precedent for this — when the Biden administration terminated the policy last June, they started processing people in,” said McPherson, adding that it was “done in an orderly fashion” as her organization helped accompany migrants through the border.

“We know the administration, working with nongovernmental organizations, would develop a process by which it could adjudicate cases while (asylum-seekers) safely await their court appearances in the United States,” she said.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
Close
0:00
0:00
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
Drone Attack on Moscow's Wealthiest Neighborhoods Suspected to be Launched by Ukraine
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store As They Broke ''Company Policy''
If you donated to BLM, you got played
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines calls the British monarchy "an absurdity" he wants to remove in his lifetime
King Charles III being crowned.
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
A Real woman
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
Ukraine More Prepared for Counterattack as Reinforcements Arrive
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Discuss Migration, Defence, and Ukraine
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
CNN: "Joe Biden is asking for four more years — when 74% of Americans think the country is heading the wrong way“
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Cuts Short Live TV Interview Due to Health Issue
US Congresswoman threaten Twitter Files journalist with arrest
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Enough is enough: it's time to end the war in Ukraine. While Russia may be to blame for starting it, Russia is not the one refusing to stop it
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
AG decries scapegoating and rushed lawmaking by government
The land of the free violence
21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira has been arrested for leaking classified Pentagon Documents
×