On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Biden administration can end the Trump-era immigration policy called the Migrant Protection Protocols. The “Remain in Mexico” policy was at the center of efforts to deter asylum-seekers, forcing some to wait in Mexico.
The legal fight in the immigration case was about whether U.S. immigration authorities, with far less detention capacity than needed, had to send people to Mexico or whether they had the discretion under federal law to release asylum-seekers into the United States while they awaited their hearings.
The Department of Homeland Security began to implement the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) in January 2019. Under MPP, certain
non-Mexican nationals arriving by land from Mexico were returned to Mexico to await the results of their removal proceedings under section 1229a of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office in January 2021. Lower courts ordered it reinstated in response to a lawsuit from Republican-led Texas and Missouri.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that an appeals court “erred in holding that the” federal Immigration and Nationality Act “required the Government to continue implementing MPP.” Brett Kavanaugh noted that in general, when there is not enough detention capacity, both releasing asylum-seekers into the United States and sending them back to Mexico “are legally permissible options under the immigration statutes.”
Along with Justice Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan all ruled in favor of the Biden administration.
Gov. Kay Ivey released a statement regarding the decision, saying that ending the policy only exacerbated the border crisis.
“The Biden Administration’s decision to end President Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy is contributing to the full-blown crisis at the Southern Border and is having devastating effects on both U.S. citizens and migrants,”. Ivey stated. “This was reasonable, good policy, and ending this policy only exacerbates the problem, plain and simple. DHS does not have the capacity to detain the massive flow of individuals, and instead of choosing this clearly effective and legal option, they are releasing these people all across the country.”
Ivey promised to continue to provide resources to border states.
Ivey concluded, “Where the federal government has refused to secure the Southern Border, states like Texas, Alabama, and our neighbors have stepped up to provide resources. We will continue our fight to demand action from our government.”
