U.S. Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration to End MPP

WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court allows the Biden administration’s efforts to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols—an illegal Trump-era policy that sent thousands of people seeking humanitarian protection to dangerous areas of Mexico to await their asylum hearings.

The court’s decision held that Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas did not have initial authority to issue an injunction blocking the termination of MPP. It also held that the Texas court and the 5th Circuit were wrong to rule that the program was required by a 1996 law and affirmed that the Biden administration does have the authority to terminate the Trump-era program.

Under this policy also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program, asylum seekers were murdered, raped, kidnapped, extorted, and compelled to live in squalid conditions where they faced significant procedural barriers to meaningfully presenting their protection claims.

The following statement is from Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director of the American Immigration Council:

“Today, the Supreme Court made clear that the Biden administration has the right to end a cruel and inhumane policy created by the Trump administration, rejecting the radical proposition that no administration could ever end the Remain in Mexico program.

“Today’s decision will permit the Biden administration to finally terminate Remain in Mexico, giving over 4,000 people sent back to Mexico since November of 2021 under the renewed program a chance to seek asylum in safety. But we cannot forget that with Title 42 in place, asylum seekers continue to be turned away.

“While we are heartened that today’s decision will end the cruel and inhumane Remain in Mexico program, stripping federal courts of their ability to issue injunctions in immigration enforcement and detention cases not brought by individual immigrants will have severe ramifications on immigrant rights going forward. Limiting access to justice to challenge immigration enforcement cases sets a dangerous precedent by giving agencies unchecked power to arrest, detain, and deport.”

The American Immigration Council has a range of research and other resources on the Migrant Protection Protocols, including experts available to speak on the fatal flaws in the lower court decisions, factual and legal recommendations on how to end the Migrant Protection Protocols in a second termination memorandum, and records about the implementation of the MPP program obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

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 For more information, contact:

Maria Frausto at the American Immigration Council, [email protected] or 202-507-7526.