Women’s Refugee Commission Outraged by Supreme Court Decision to Allow Restart of ‘Remain in Mexico’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) denied the government’s request for a stay of a Texas district court decision ordering the Biden administration to restart the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as “Remain in Mexico.”

Previously under MPP, tens of thousands of migrant families and adults seeking protection were sent back to dangerous, squalid conditions in Mexico to await their U.S. immigration court hearings. There have been more than 1,500 publicly documented cases of violent crime, including kidnapping, extortion, rape, assault, and torture committed against individuals subjected to MPP.

In response to the SCOTUS ruling, Ursela Ojeda, policy advisor for the Women’s Refugee Commission’s Migrant Rights and Justice Program, released the following statement:

“The Supreme Court’s decision is profoundly disappointing and heartbreaking. From its inception, MPP was and is an illegal policy that cruelly and needlessly placed people seeking protection directly in harm’s way. Its illegality was rightfully challenged in the courts, and the Biden administration was right to suspend MPP on its first day in office and to formally end the policy earlier this year.

“Last night’s decision puts asylum-seeking families and children at immediate risk of needless cruelty and harm, including detention, family separation, and prolonged forced stays in Mexican border towns that expose migrants to cartels and other dangers.

“We call on the Biden administration to immediately take all necessary steps to fully terminate MPP, and to do everything in its power to mitigate its harm, just as we call on the Mexican government to reject a resumption of MPP.

“Last night’s decision marks a shameful moment in this country’s work to restore and uphold the right to seek asylum. But it must not stop the Biden administration from making good on its promise to end MPP and doing right by those who — against all odds — continue to legally exercise their right to seek protection at our borders.”

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