Remain in Mexico policy in legal limbo
FOX 9's Adam Klepp explains what could happen during this time and how we got here
YUMA (KECY-TV, KYMA-TV) - The clock is ticking on the Biden administration to keep migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
The highly controversial ‘Remain in Mexico' policy may have to be re-instated due to court order.
President Biden tried to end the Trump-era policy on his first day in office, signing an executive order rescinding the policy.
A court ruling in August said his administration may have violated federal law by ending the policy so quickly, putting an undue burden on border states like Texas, Arizona, and California to house migrants.
Lawyers who represent asylum seekers say bringing back remain in Mexico would once again prevent asylum seekers from having a fair day in court.
Tess Helgren is the Deputy Legal Director for the Innovation Law Lab, a non-profit combining law, advocacy, and technology to help migrants.
They are currently in litigation representing six migrants who were sent back to Mexico under the Trump administration. Some had their asylum claims denied or weren't even able to attend their hearing in the states since they were removed.
Helgren says sending asylum seekers to Mexico, where they face physical harm, prevents them from accessing proper legal counsel.
“In immigration court, you aren’t guaranteed an attorney, and even for the individuals who have tried to get attorneys, when it came time for their court dates, the vast majority of individuals in this program are unable to find counsel," Helgren said.
Those who advocate for the policy say the recent influx of migrants at the southern border is because the Bidens signed an executive order ending it on the first day of his presidency.
“We went from the most controlled border in December of 2020, to all-time highs because they canceled the remain in Mexico policy,” Senator Lindsey Graham said at the border wall in San Luis less than a month ago.
Due to the court ruling, the Biden administration must bring the policy back, in quote, “good-faith”. According to the administration, asylum seekers could be sent back to Mexico starting in mid-November.
Recently, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas issued a memo, again attempting to end the policy.
"I recognize that MPP likely contributed to reduced migratory flows. But it did so by imposing substantial and unjustifiable human costs on the individuals who were exposed to harm while waiting in Mexico," Mayorkas said. "After carefully considering the arguments, evidence, and perspectives, I have determined that MPP should be terminated.”
The memo from Mayorkas, for now, is just symbolic.
The Biden administration cannot officially vacate the 'Remain in Mexico' policy unless the court injunction is lifted.
For now, there is no timeline on when a decision could come down.
