The Biden administration is again trying to put an end to former President Donald Trump 's so-called 'Remain in Mexico ' p...
The Biden administration is again trying to put an end to former President Donald Trump's so-called 'Remain in Mexico' policy combatting illegal immigration after a federal judge ruled last month that the move to end the program was unlawful.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement Wednesday announcing its intent to issue a memorandum terminating the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the 'Remain in Mexico' program.
The order, according to the statement, will come in the next few weeks.
'A new memorandum terminating MPP will not take effect until the current injunction is lifted by court order,' the DHS press release reads. 'In issuing a new memorandum terminating MPP, the Department intends to address the concerns raised by the courts with respect to the prior memorandum.'
In June 2021, DHS issued a memorandum terminating the MPP that a Texas district court ruled in August violated the law and issued an order requiring the agency to restart the Trump-era program.
In another blow to the Biden administration's attempt to shut down the program, the Supreme Court in August rejected the Justice Department's request to put the policy on hold while litigation over Biden's efforts to rescind the policy was resolved in the courts.
DHS released a statement Wednesday saying they will again try to strike down the Trump-era 'Remain in Mexico' policy. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing on September 24
The statement comes after a Texas federal court ruled in August that the administration memorandum ending the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) was unlawful
It also comes after thousands of mostly Haitian migrants crossed into the U.S. over the last month. Here the migrants wait in a shelter in Mexico on Tuesday to hear status of their case for asylum in the U.S.
MPP states that illegal immigrants entering the U.S. by way of the southern border may be returned to Mexico to wait during the duration of their immigration proceedings. The deal with Mexico was struck during the Trump administration and makes it so the neighbors to the south are responsible for providing all appropriate humanitarian protections for those seeking entry into the U.S.
DHS assured that until the new memorandum takes effect, it is working to restore MPP in line with order from the Texas court.
'To that end, the Department, working with the Department of State, is engaged in ongoing and high-level diplomatic discussions with Mexico,' the agency wrote. 'Simultaneously, the Department has instituted an interagency Task Force to efficiently rebuild the infrastructure and reapportioning the staffing that will be needed to restart MPP once that concurrence has been obtained.'
'Among many other steps, the Task Force is updating policies and procedures to account for COVID-19 and preparing to put in place contracts to rebuild the soft-sided Immigration Hearing Facilities used for court proceedings associated with MPP. '
President Joe Biden, DHS and its secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, have received a slew of criticism over the prevailing migration and illegal immigration crisis at the southern border – especially after thousands of mostly Haitian migrants set up camp in Del Rio, Texas this month.
DHS ramped up it's deportation efforts after a group of around 15,000 of these migrants set up an encampment under and around the Del Rio International Bridge, then proceeded to used a dam to cross daily between their camp in the U.S. and an area to obtain food and resources in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.
The agency released partial figures last week showing 12 removal flights had taken 1,401 migrants back to Haiti, but at the time said 3,206 remained in custody and 5,000 were still camped out beneath the bridge in Del Rio. This meant that of the 15,000 – 5,000 were unaccounted for in those figures.
On Sunday, Mayorkas revealed that 12,000 Haitian migrants were released into the U.S. as they await their immigration hearings and another 5,000 are still being processed. This means at least 17,000 Haitian migrants have illegally entered the U.S. and are seeking asylum.
A group of around 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants set up an encampment near the Del Rio International Bridge this month. An image of the makeshift camp here on September 19
Here Haitians cross the waist-high water in the Rio Grande river on September 23 as they wade back to the U.S. after getting supplies and food from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico
Democrats were enraged when images emerged earlier this month of Border Patrol agents on horseback wielding split-reins. Some accused the agents of using the reins to whip migrants, while agents and witnesses claim they were never used as a weapon, and just a tool to direct their horse and wrangle the illegal border jumpers.
Mayorkas reassigned the agents in the images to administrative duties while an investigation ensues. He also assured civil rights activists, after Representative Maxine Waters called the images 'worse than slavery', that agnets in Del Rio are no longer operating on horseback.
Republicans decried the Biden administration for attempting to dismantle MPP, claiming it is one of the successful programs that helped quell mass migration during Trump's presidency.
Since Biden took office, the rate of illegal immigration has skyrocketed.
July saw the highest number of migrant encounters with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with 213,534. That monthly figure dipped for the first time since Biden took office in August, when 208,887 encounters occurred at the U.S.-Mexico border.
More than 1.2 million migrants have illegally crossed into the U.S. from February to August.
'The Department remains committed to building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system that upholds our laws and values. The Department also continues to process individuals in accordance with U.S. law and our
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