Complaining all the way, the Biden administration, under court order, is on the verge of reinstituting the MPP–otherwise known as “Remain in Mexico.” Under this policy, originally begun by President Trump, would-be asylees crossing illegally into the United States from Mexico are required to await decision on their claims in Mexico, not, as Biden would prefer, being allowed to roam freely about the U.S.
This policy, roundly condemned along with all other things Trump by Biden during and after last year’s presidential campaign, was declared dead soon after his inauguration this year. The courts intervened, however, and ruling that Biden had not followed proper procedure in abandoning the policy and lacked sufficient housing capacity along the border to care for admitted claimants, ordered it reinstituted.
That was in August. It’s now December and Slow Joe may finally be getting around to the task. The DHS issued a press release yesterday stating the following:
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has repeatedly stated that MPP has endemic flaws, imposed unjustifiable human costs, pulled resources and personnel away from other priority efforts, and failed to address the root causes of irregular migration. . . .On October 29, 2021, Secretary Mayorkas issued a new memorandum announcing and explaining his decision to terminate the program. This Administration, however, remains under a court order requiring it to reimplement MPP in good faith, which it will abide by even as it continues to vigorously contest the ruling.
An update to this statement announces that “the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice will work out final operational details and begin the court-ordered re-implementation of the program on or around Monday, Dec.6.”
The statement, however, in one last swipe at All Things Trump, concludes with this vow:
Once the court injunction is lifted, MPP will be terminated.
The Trump-era MPP, so despised by Biden and Co., is widely regarded as having successfully dealt with the influx of asylum seekers in early 2019, when it was first put into effect. It would have helped with the ongoing migrant crisis this year, but it didn’t fit with the new government’s Invite the World policy. The court order required Biden to do the right thing, for which he is sorry.
For more, see the NY Post.
Let’s not pat ourselves on the back too soon as this is also a giveaway the US taxpayer will be on the hook for. Read the fine print.