JUST IN — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially terminated the “remain in Mexico” policy that was initiated under President Donald Trump’s administration, which enabled immigration agencies to keep illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers in Mexico while they waited for their court date.
In January, Joe Biden suspended the Migrant Protection Protocols, but the Department of Homeland Security instructed employees in the memo on Tuesday that they will no longer be enforcing the mandate.
Since January 20, when Biden took office, he has issued dozen executive orders rescinding Trump-era immigration policies.
On February 2, Biden called on agencies responsible for enforcing immigration rules to review the MMP and consider terminating it.
According to the new memo, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the program didn’t “adequately or sustainably enhance border management.”
“Having now completed the further review undertaken pursuant to Executive Order 14010 to determine whether to terminate or modify MPP, and for the reasons outlined below, I am by this memorandum terminating the MPP program,” he said in the memo.
“I direct DHS personnel to take all appropriate actions to terminate MPP, including taking all steps necessary to rescind implementing guidance and other directives or policy guidance issued to implement the program,” he continued.
“Moreover, in making my assessment, I share the belief that we can only manage migration in an effective, responsible, and durable manner if we approach the issue comprehensively, looking well beyond our own borders,” Mayorkas added.
The program was implemented in 2019, and reports have said more than 67,000 people were enrolled.
Asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants who presented themselves to Border Patrol officers or were arrested along the U.S.-Mexico border were sent to Mexico where they would remain likely for months for immigration court proceedings.
In April, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that there were 172,000 encounters between Border Patrol agents and illegal immigrants in March, including nearly 19,000 unaccompanied children.
Biden and the Democrats have defended the administration’s policies and claimed the Trump-era policies undermined the U.S. immigration system and needed to be overhauled, something Trump and former federal immigration officials have denied.
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