Biden Administration Reportedly Plans To Restart ‘Remain In Mexico’ Policy

The Biden administration is set to restart the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy following a court order, according to a Biden administration official.

The policy, which is also known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), started in Dec. 2018 to keep asylum seekers in Mexico while they awaited immigration court proceedings. President Joe Biden revoked the policy soon after taking office.

“In compliance with the court order, we are working to reimplement MPP as promptly as possible,“ Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Marsha Espinosa told Axios.

“We cannot do so until we have the independent agreement from the Government of Mexico to accept those we seek to enroll in MPP. We will communicate to the court, and to the public, the timing of reimplementation when we are prepared to do so,” Espinosa said.

The Biden administration earlier faced pressure to return to the policy. In April, Texas and Missouri sued the Biden administration in an effort to have MPP reinstated over the “influx of crime pouring across our border.” In response to the lawsuit, a federal judge ruled in Aug. against the Biden administration’s attempt to end the policy, and the Supreme Court subsequently upheld the ruling.

Vice President Kamala Harris met with Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador on Nov. 18, but the two appeared to neglect MPP in their discussion.

Between Oct. 2020 and Sept. 2021, border officials encountered over 1.7 million migrants at the southern border.