US to reinstate Trump-era border policy
SAN DIEGO – The Biden administration struck an agreement with Mexico to reinstate a Trump-era border policy next week that forces asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Revival of the “Remain in Mexico” policy comes under a court order even as the administration maneuvers to end it in a way that survives legal scrutiny. President Joe Biden scrapped the policy, but a lawsuit by Texas and Missouri forced him to reinstate it.
About 70,000 asylum-seekers have been subject to the policy, which President Donald Trump introduced in January 2019 and which Biden suspended on his first day in office.
Illegal border crossings fell sharply after Mexico, facing Trump’s threat of higher tariffs, acquiesced in 2019 to the policy’s rapid expansion. Asylum-seekers were victims of violence while waiting in Mexico and faced a slew of legal obstacles, such as access to attorneys and case information.
Migrants are expected to be returned starting Monday in one border city, which has not been identified. It will eventually be done in seven locations: San Diego and Calexico in California; Nogales, Arizona; and the Texas border cities of Brownsville, Eagle Pass, El Paso and Laredo.
The Homeland Security Department said Thursday that it was acting to comply with a court order but that Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas believes the policy “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.”
“Deeply flawed,” White House spokesman Jen Psaki said Thursday when describing the policy. “We’re working to implement under the court order.”
The dual announcements follow intense discussions between the U.S. and Mexico after U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee in Amarillo, Texas, ordered the policy be reinstated, subject to Mexico’s participation.
The policy’s new iteration, outlined by administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, includes major additions and changes that Mexico demanded.
All migrants subject to the policy will be vaccinated against COVID-19. Adults will get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one shot. Children who are eligible under U.S. guidelines will get the Pfizer shot, with second shots when they come to the U.S. for their first hearings.
The U.S. will try to complete cases within 180 days. The Justice Department is assigning 22 immigration judges to work on these cases.
U.S. authorities will ask migrants if they fear being returned to Mexico instead of relying on them to raise concerns unprompted. If they express fear, they will be screened and have 24 hours to find an attorney or representative.
The Biden administration is working to ensure migrants’ safety when they travel to and from court, including within Mexico. Migrants returned from Laredo and Brownsville, where Mexican border cities are especially dangerous, will be moved to locations further inside Mexico.
Migrants from Western Hemisphere countries will be eligible. U.S. officials haven’t said how many will be processed daily. The administration has kept in place another Trump-era policy that allows it to return Central Americans to Mexico on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Migrants will have an opportunity to meet with attorneys before each hearing. The State Department is working with Mexico on locations for video and phone access to attorneys in the U.S. Those features mirror many conditions that Mexico laid out.
It also said that “vulnerable” people should be exempt, including unaccompanied children, pregnant women, physically or mentally ill people, older people, indigenous people and members of the LGBTQ community.
Mexico said it was seeking money from the U.S. for shelters and other organizations to substantially increase support for migrants waiting in Mexico.