The Supreme Court said Friday it will take up a case involving the Biden administration’s attempt to end the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” border policy.
The policy, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, was instrumental in solving the 2019 border surge. But the Biden team deemed the policy too cruel to illegal immigrants forced to wait in Mexico and moved to end it.
Lower federal courts blocked the Biden administration, ruling that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cut too many corners in trying to rescind the Trump policy and finding that Remain in Mexico was an important tool for border security.
The justices have sped the case onto their docket, announcing oral argument will take place in April.
Under MPP, illegal immigrants nabbed at the border who still lodged claims demanding admission, such as asylum, were pushed back across the border to wait for their court dates.
The Trump team’s theory was that illegal immigrants were abusing the system, knowing that it was taking years to go through the immigration courts. They were making bogus claims and counting on being released into the U.S., where they were able to put down roots. The Trump team said many wouldn’t even bother to show up for their court cases.
Indeed, once MPP was in effect, the number of people attempting the journey across the border dropped — and many of those who did still attempt it and were put into MPP gave up their claims. Trump officials said that was evidence the claims were bogus.
Critics said the conditions MPP migrants faced in Mexico were atrocious, with returnees becoming instant targets for robbery or kidnapping.
The Biden administration has tried multiple ways to revoke MPP, but under the lower court ruling, it has had to revive the program, though in small numbers.
Just 67 migrants were subjected to MPP in January, out of more than 150,000 illegal border encounters.