In late October 2021, the Biden administration made a second attempt to dismantle the Trump-era rule that holds asylum-seekers in Mexico while their U.S. immigration cases proceed, even as it prepares to restore that very policy under a federal court order. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged that the arrangement likely helped reduce border crossings in 2019, yet judged its human toll to be too heavy to justify. The turn is a familiar one in governance: a government weighing deterrence against dignity, and finding that the legal machinery of reversal moves more slowly t
Biden Administration Renews Push to End 'Remain in Mexico' Asylum Policy After Court Order
Asylum-seekers forced to wait in Mexico were exposed to violence, according to Secretary Mayorkas.
Ending the policy and restoring it, in the same announcement
Mark
So the administration is ending the policy and restarting it at once?
Mimi
Essentially. A Texas judge ordered it reinstated "in good faith," so the administration is complying while also filing a new justification for ending it.
Luke
Worth noting the judge left that opening. This isn't defiance of the order; it's the route the court allowed.
Mark
What does Mayorkas actually concede?
Mimi
That the policy likely helped reduce illegal crossings in 2019. But he says the human costs were substantial and unjustifiable, because people waiting in Mexico faced violence.
Luke
"Likely contributed" is his hedged wording, not a measured finding. And the reporting gives no figures on violence here, only his characterization.
Mark
Why are allies upset?
Mimi
They say the opinion took too long to draft.
Mark
And Mexico's role?
Mimi
Reinstatement needs Mexico's approval. It wants cases generally finished in 180 days and better access to lawyers and case information.
Luke
Which is where it gets shaky. Many legal aid groups say they won't take these cases. Officials say other attorneys will step in, but that's their belief, not something demonstrated yet.
Mimi
So the mid-November target is an expectation, not a promise.
Luke
Exactly. Whether Mexico agrees is still unknown.
Der Puls
- A federal judge's order to reinstate "Remain in Mexico" has left the administration bound to restore a policy it wants to end.
- Mayorkas's new opinion names real danger: asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico were exposed to violence.
- Mexico's approval hangs over the mid-November restart, with conditions of 180-day case timelines and stronger legal access.
- Many U.S. legal aid groups have stepped back from these cases, leaving the access-to-counsel demand in doubt.
- Officials are betting other attorneys will fill the gap, and the courts will decide whether this opinion finally ends the policy.
In late October 2021, the Biden administration made a second attempt to dismantle the Trump-era rule that holds asylum-seekers in Mexico while their U.S. immigration cases proceed, even as it prepares to restore that very policy under a federal court order. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged that the arrangement likely helped reduce border crossings in 2019, yet judged its human toll to be too heavy to justify. The turn is a familiar one in governance: a government weighing deterrence against dignity, and finding that the legal machinery of reversal moves more slowly than the lives it touches.
On Friday, the Biden administration tried again to end the Trump-era policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico while their cases move through U.S. immigration court. In the same announcement, it confirmed that the policy will return, because a federal judge in Texas ordered it reinstated more than two months earlier.
The policy, formally the Migrant Protection Protocols and widely known as "Remain in Mexico," has now been examined by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His opinion concedes that the program likely helped lower illegal border crossings in 2019. But it also describes "substantial and unjustifiable human costs," since people forced to wait in Mexico were exposed to violence. The judge's order left a narrow door open, allowing the administration to justify ending the policy anew, and this opinion is that attempt.
Some of the administration's strongest allies on immigration argue the opinion came too late, and the delay has left officials reviving a policy they want abolished. The restart is targeted for mid-November, but only if Mexico agrees. Mexico wants cases resolved within about 180 days and asylum-seekers given better access to lawyers and case information.
That last condition is the hardest. Many U.S. legal aid groups that served these asylum-seekers say they will no longer take such cases. Officials maintain that enough other attorneys will step forward. What remains open is whether the November date holds, whether Mexico agrees, and whether the courts accept that the policy can finally be set aside.
On Friday, the Biden administration made a second attempt to end the Trump-era policy that forces asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases move through U.S. immigration court. In the same announcement, it reaffirmed that it will bring the policy back, as a federal court has ordered.
The policy is officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols and is better known as "Remain in Mexico." Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the new opinion, reported from San Diego by The Associated Press. In it, he acknowledged that the policy likely contributed to a drop in illegal border crossings in 2019. He also said it carried "substantial and unjustifiable human costs," because asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico were exposed to violence.
The announcement came more than two months after a federal judge in Texas ordered the administration to reinstate the policy "in good faith." That order left a narrow opening: the administration could try again to justify ending it. Friday's opinion is that attempt, and it runs alongside the obligation to restore the program in the meantime.
Some of the administration's most prominent pro-immigration allies say Mayorkas took too long to draft the opinion. The delay left the administration preparing to revive a policy it wants gone, while the legal route to ending it waited on paperwork.
Earlier this month, the administration said it expected to reinstate the policy by mid-November. That timeline depends on approval from the Mexican government. Mexico has made demands as a condition: cases should generally be concluded within 180 days, and asylum-seekers should have better access to legal representation and to information about their cases. The administration has been working to meet those terms.
The access-to-counsel demand runs into a problem. Many U.S.-based legal aid groups that worked with asylum-seekers subject to the policy in Mexico say they will no longer accept such cases. That raises questions about how the United States can satisfy Mexico's insistence on better access to lawyers. Administration officials say they believe enough other attorneys will represent asylum-seekers sent back across the border.
What to watch now is whether the mid-November target holds, whether Mexico signs off, and whether the new opinion persuades the courts that the policy can finally be ended.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The policy carried "substantial and unjustifiable human costs" for asylum-seekers exposed to violence in Mexico.— Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
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