Anushka Sharma –
Published On: November 26, 2021 at 12:00 IST
According to sources, President Biden is planning to reintroduce the Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ immigration policy as soon as next week, despite several attempts to repeal it.
According to Axios, which cited two Government immigration officials, migrant adults enrolling in the programme will be administered the COVID-19 vaccine, which is a shift from the policy under former President Trump.
Vaccines cannot be required, and it is unclear when migrants will obtain them during the asylum procedure.
El Paso and Brownsville, Texas, as well as San Diego, Calif., will be the first cities to see the policy reinstated, the outlet reported.
“As we have previously stated, we are required by Court order to reimplement MPP,” a DHS spokesperson remarked referring to the policy’s official name of ‘Migrant Protection Protocols.’
“In compliance with the Court order, we are working to reimplement MPP as promptly as possible. We cannot do so until we have the independent agreement from the government of Mexico to accept those we seek to enroll in MPP. We will communicate to the Court and to the public the timing of reimplementation when we are prepared to do so.”
Texas District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ordered in August that the administration must resume the programme, which forces asylum applicants on the southern US border to wait in Mexico until their cases are adjudicated.
Last month, the Biden administration moved to discontinue the programme once more, admitting that it “likely contributed to reduced migratory flows.”
The so-called ‘Remain in Mexico’ programme was temporarily halted by Biden shortly after assuming office in January. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas formally discontinued it at the beginning of June.
Prior to a private meeting between Biden and Mexican President, administration officials stated that the two leaders would not discuss the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, even in private.