Supreme Court's Decision on MPP Leaves Asylum Seekers at Risk
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Michele Garnett McKenzie, mmckenzie@advrights.org
(August 25, 2021)
Last night, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision out of Texas which effectively reinstated the Remain in Mexico Policy (also known as Migration Protection Protocols (MPP)).
Since the Trump
administration introduced the policy, The Advocates has decried it as an
illegal infringement on the right to seek asylum as well as a harmful policy
that has subjected people to violence, kidnapping, murder, rape, and
trafficking while forced to wait case adjudication in Mexico. The
Advocates calls on President Biden to swiftly renew its efforts to terminate
the policy and restore full access to the asylum system by revoking all harmful
Trump-era policies and working with Congress to rebuild an immigration and
asylum system that reflects our values as a nation and upholds the rule of
law.
Sarah Brenes, director of the Refugee and Immigrant
Program at The Advocates for Human Rights, stated:
"The Remain in Mexico policy is an unlawful, ineffective, and harmful policy that violates due process and international human rights while increasing the risk of violent crime. The Biden administration did the right thing in working to end the policy, and the Supreme Court got it wrong in blocking that action. We have had years to see the negative impacts of MPP and other Trump policies, including serving clients who were victims of trafficking and violent crimes when forced to remain in Mexico under this policy. President Biden must not use the SCOTUS decision as an excuse to betray its promises to deliver a more humane, just and bold immigration and asylum system."
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