FORT WORTH, TX – A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Biden Administration must reinstate the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy – also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – originally instituted by the Trump Administration, stating that by ending the program, the White House had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously.”
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk – a Trump appointee – noted that the Biden Administration had violated procedural laws and terminated the program illegally. In addition, Kacsmaryk noted that the White House had failed to see “several of the main benefits” of the MPP, and that it should remain in place until it is “lawfully rescinded” and the government develops the ability and capacity necessary to detain all asylum-seekers and migrants who enter the country illegally.
The MPP, part of Trump’s immigration policy, required asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico to await their trials, as opposed to being allowed to reside in United States until their court date. President Joe Biden had suspended the MPP program on his first day in office; in June, his administration officially ended it.
Kacsmaryk’s decision on Friday had been fueled by a lawsuit filed by the states of Texas and Missouri; the judge had given the Biden Administration a week to appeal his decision before he officially rendered it, reports say.
The MPP being ended by the Biden Administration is considered by critics to be one of the main contributing factors to the current crisis at the southern border. Kacsmaryk’s ruling stared that the reasoning for his decision was based on the fact that Texas and Missouri were both experiencing hardship due to the program’s termination and massive influx of illegal immigrants, and that migrants released into the country could use the healthcare system, apply for driver’s licenses, and send their children to U.S. schools.
According to data released last week, over 212,000 migrants attempted to cross the U.S. southern border in July, the highest number since 2000.
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