Later in the week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will bring back the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy due to a court order.
“The Biden administration is expected to restart the Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ border policy next week, according to a senior administration official,” stated a CNN report.
“President Biden will start turning asylum seekers back to Mexico as soon as this week under a reinstated Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ program — but will offer them the option to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” Axios reported that same day.
Neil Munro of Breitbart News reported Texas judge Matt Kacsmaryk is forcing the partial revival of Remain in Mexico.
In August, Kacsmaryk instructed the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to restart the Migrant Protection Protocols or detain migrants seeking asylum until their asylum petitions have been determined.
DHS officials opted to restore Remain in Mexico as opposed to building detention centers for migrants.
However, the federal law and Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy have drawn firm opposition from several border officials, including Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas has already announced his desire to cancel the Remain in Mexico program if higher judges throw out Kascmaryk’s decision.
So far, White House officials have complied with Kacsmaryk’s ruling.
During his tenure as DHS Secretary, Mayorkas has attempted to strike a balance between border security and protecting migrant rights.
Before a Senate panel in November, Mayorkas said that Americans could not secure their border unless migrants receive justice in the U.S. immigration court system.
“Justice is our priority,” Mayorkas said at a Senate hearing.
“That includes securing our border and providing relief to those [migrants] who qualify for it under our laws,” Mayorkas continued.
Munro reported that so far in 2021, “Mayorkas and his deputies have allowed roughly 1.8 million migrants into the United States.”