Shivangi Prakash-
Published on: August 20, 2021, at 10:19 IST
Late Thursday, a Federal Appeals Court refused to postpone the implementation of a judge’s ruling upholding a Trump Administration policy that forces thousands of people to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the United States.
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden stopped former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, and the Department of Homeland Security announced in June that the programme would permanently be terminated.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ordered that the programme be reintroduced on Saturday.
The Biden administration filed an appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, requesting that the programme, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, be put on hold pending the outcome of the case.
In papers, the administration contended that the president has “clear power to decide immigration policy” and that Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security, has discretion in deciding whether or not to deport asylum seekers to Mexico.
Missouri, which had challenged MPP’s suspension, was opposed to a stay of Kacsmaryk’s order, according to lawyers for the states of Texas.
They claimed that the Biden administration did not follow correct procedures in halting the policy, and that after it was adopted, individuals with legitimate asylum claims began to return to their home countries on their own volition.
A three-judge 5th Circuit panel denied a stay of Kacsmaryk’s order late Thursday.
“Even if the Government were correct that long-term compliance with the District Court’s injunction would cause irreparable harm, it presents no reason to think that it cannot comply with the District Court’s requirement of good faith while the appeal proceeds,” the ruling aid.
Thousands of asylum seekers with active cases who were part of the remain in Mexico programme are affected by the decision.
Trump nominated Kacsmaryk to the Federal Bench. Andrew Oldham and Cory Wilson, both Trump nominations, were on the 5th Circuit panel that ruled Thursday night, as was Jennifer Walker Elrod, who was nominated to the Appeals Court by President George W. Bush.