Supreme Court Orders The ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Reinstated For Asylum-Seekers

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a court ruling ordering the Biden administration to reinstate a Trump-era policy that forces people to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S.

With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court said the administration likely violated federal law in its efforts to rescind the program informally known as Remain in Mexico.

The justices said in their unsigned decision that the Biden administration appeared to act arbitrarily and capriciously by rescinding the policy, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols. They also cited last year’s decision in the Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of University of California case. That decision blocked the Trump administration’s effort to undo the Obama-era program protecting young immigrants that came to the U.S. as children.

Immigration advocates, including the American Immigration Council said Remain in Mexico is a dangerous policy for thousands of people seeking humanitarian aid.

After Remain in Mexico was enacted in 2019, thousands of asylum-seekers were forced to await their immigration hearings in the U.S. in rough conditions across the border.

“Forcing vulnerable families and children to wait in provisional camps in Mexico puts their lives at risk, while also making it nearly impossible for them to access the asylum process,” Kate Melloy Goettel, Legal Director of Litigation at the American Immigration Council, said in a statement.

The White House halted the program shortly after President Biden’s inauguration. Texas sued over the program’s suspension claiming it placed a burden on local governments to provide services to immigrants who were allowed to stay in the U.S.

Texas’s Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling Tuesday. Paxton tweeted the policy “must be implemented now!”

A federal judge in Texas had previously ordered that the Remain in Mexico program be reinstated last week. Both he and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused the administration’s request to put the ruling on hold.

Justice Samuel Alito ordered a brief delay to allow the full court time to consider the administration’s appeal. The case may return to the Supreme Court after an appeal’s court hears the case.

Goettel called on the Biden administration to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision, which the Homeland Security Department said Tuesday it will pushing for.

The Homeland Security Department “respectfully disagrees with the district court’s decision and regrets that the Supreme Court declined to issue a stay,” the department said in a written statement. The department did promise to comply with the order while the appeals continue.