Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: August 2, 2022 at 20:08 IST
In a pro forma act that has garnered attention in the absence of any announcement from the White House, the Supreme Court has certified its month-old ruling allowing the Biden administration to end a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s border policy that required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico before hearings in US immigration court.
The two-word docket entry on Monday said, “Judgment issued,” to read that the justices had overruled a lower court that had ruled the “Remain in Mexico” policy to be reinstated in December by voting 5-4 in a ruling issued on June 30.
A lower court should then lift the order to keep the policy in place in a suit brought by the State of Texas, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who stated this shortly after the Supreme Court’s victory that Justices would need to communicate the decision to a lower court. The lawsuit was brought by the state of Texas. Little has been said by administration officials, including if any of the thousands of subject to the policy since December will be allowed to enter and remain in the United States while their cases are being heard in immigration court.
Regarding the Supreme Court certification, the White House, the Homeland Security Department, and the Justice Department declined the comment. There was no immediate comment from Mexican officials.
From the time, former President Donald Trump introduced the “Migrant Protection Protocols” or MPP, in January 2019 until President Joe Biden suspended it on his first day in office in January 2021, over 70,000 migrants were subject to the policy, making good on a campaign promise. During the first few months of Biden’s presidency, many were allowed to return to the country to pursue their cases.
The International Organization for Migration’s sign, which was posted last week at the entrance to the Salvation Army migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, appeared to best capture how the public understood the status of the policy: “Wait for official information! The Remain in Mexico (MPP) program remains in effect. The United States government will inform you of any changes.”