SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

U.S. formally ends Trump’s ‘remain in Mexico’ asylum policy

According to a report from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), sent to agency leaders on Tuesday, the United States formally ended Trump-era “stay in Mexico” policy, which forced tens of thousands of Central American asylum seekers to expect US cases in Mexico.

President Joe Biden’s administration paused shortly after he took office on 20 January the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Since then, more than 11,000 migrants have been allowed into the USA to apply for asylum, an official from the DHS said on Tuesday to Reuters.

Biden, a Democrat, has reversed many of the restrictive immigration policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican, saying Trump failed to honor U.S. asylum laws. Republicans have criticized Biden’s actions, including ending the MPP program, saying he encouraged an increase in migrant arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months.

In a Feb. 2 executive order, Biden called for U.S. agencies to review the MPP program and consider whether to terminate it.

The memo formally ending the MPP program, issued by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, said the program did not “adequately or sustainably enhance border management,” noting that border arrests increased at times while the program remained in place.

“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 wrote.

    Source:
  • Reuters