The Department of Homeland Security claimed in court filings Thursday that the Biden administration is on track to restart President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” border security policy by mid-November. It is unclear if they will follow through.
A U.S. District Court in Texas ordered the Biden administration to restart the “Remain in Mexico” policy this August after Texas and Missouri sued the administration for not following the proper administrative procedures when it shut down the program on President Joe Biden’s first day in office.
The Supreme Court affirmed that ruling later that month, forcing DHS to reinstate the program. The documents DHS filed Thursday are part of the District Court’s efforts to make sure DHS is following the order.
“Defendants can now further report that, since the September 15 Notice, the [DHS] has made substantial progress toward the re-implementation of MPP,” the filing read. “DHS has, among other things, engaged in a number of high-level and ongoing virtual and in person discussions with the Government of Mexico, continued to finalize the operational plans that will be required to quickly re-implement MPP; worked closely with the Department of Justice and other interagency partners to ensure that the immigration courts are prepared to hear the cases of those subject to MPP on a timely basis: and issued the contracts required to rebuild the soft-sided Immigration Hearing Facilities (IHFs) in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas.”
While all this may sound like nice progress toward implementing the policy again, DHS also firmly stressed that they are appealing the District Court’s ruling, and if they win their appeal, they have every intention of abandoning their efforts to restart the “Remain in Mexico” program.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the Trump administration to deny migrants access to the United States using Title 42 public health authority, Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy had successfully restored order to the southern border by forcing migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims were heard. By denying migrants easy access to the U.S., where virtually none of them are ever deported even if they lose their asylum claim, the “Remain in Mexico” policy significantly cut the number of migrants coming to the border seeking access to the U.S.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly reiterated his opposition to the Remain in Mexico solution, telling reporters this March, “I make no apologies for ending programs that did not exist before Trump became President, that have an incredibly negative impact on the law, international law, as well as on human dignity.”
There does appear to be real division within the Biden administration over how to handle the crisis on the southern border. The hardcore radical open-borders wing of the Democratic Party wants nothing to do with Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy and has successfully dictated most of Biden’s border policies so far.
However, there does appear to be a second wing in the administration that wants to restore some semblance of order on the southern border, even if that means denying migrants easy access to the U.S. Reinstating a “gentler” version of “Remain in Mexico,” one which guaranteed migrants reliable food, safe housing, and a verdict on their asylum claim in six months, would be a key part of this plan.
The Biden administration is probably keeping both wings happy with their dual-track plan. The law-and-order wing is working with the Mexican government to implement a “gentler” version of “Remain in Mexico,” while the open-borders wing continues to fight the District Court’s order.
For the sake of the country, and the migrants who are better off not making a dangerous and expensive journey north, hopefully, the law-and-order wing wins.
