The Biden administration is facing new pressure to reinstate President Donald Trump’s so-called “Remain In Mexico” policy for illegal migrants seeking asylum.
Just days after the Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden’s bid to kill the program, several lawmakers on Thursday demanded the Department of Homeland Security to move swiftly and bring it back in the hopes of slowing the overflow of illegal immigrants across the border with Mexico.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, 20 Republicans, many from border states, said: “We request that you simply embrace effective policies to secure and control the border.” It was circulated by Texas Rep. Chip Roy.
24 @HouseGOP Colleagues & I write @SecMayorkas to demand he immediately reinstate Migrant Protection Protocol in good faith given SCOTUS upheld nationwide injunction ordered by Judge Matt Kacsmaryk (NDTX) to do so… That plus Title 42 COVID enforcement would #EndTheBorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/68xaypNINY
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) August 25, 2021
The four-page letter also demanded the administration to stop letting illegal immigrants go free into the United States and that it should “fully utilize” another Trump-era rule to block migrants with COVID-19 from entering the country.
This week, the court ruled that Biden did not have the authority to end the “Migrant Protection Protocols,” which the Trump administration used to keep illegal immigrants in Mexico while it processed their asylum claims.
Former acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan told Secrets that the policy cut illegal immigration by 75% and it dropped even more when those with COVID-19 were barred from entering.
He and the lawmakers, however, are worried that Biden will “slow roll” out the policy, so the letter put new demands on DHS to begin now.
They presented several recommendations, starting with the immediate enrollment of new border crossers into the program and sending them back to Mexico.
But they also put demands on the department to start dishing accurate numbers on border crossers and those already in the nation.
