The Secretary of Homeland Security has made a stand against the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program in the midst of a court injunction requiring its reimplementation.
DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas issued a memorandum explaining his decision to terminate the MPP program, saying it doesn’t address long-standing problems in the immigration system.
“MPP had endemic flaws, imposed unjustifiable human costs, pulled resources and personnel away from other priority efforts, and did not address the root causes of irregular migration,” Mayorkas said in a DHS release. “MPP not only undercuts the Administration’s ability to implement critically needed and foundational changes to the immigration system, it fails to provide the fair process and humanitarian protections that individuals deserve under the law.”
Mayorkas came to his decision after an extensive process where he studied court documents, relevant data, and reviews, and talked with a diverse group of stakeholders and personnel connected to the issues. the release said. Mayorkas decided MPP was too costly and distracted personnel from other more worthwhile projects.
Any termination of MPP, an initiative of the Trump Administration, won’t be official until after the current court order to re-implement the program is lifted. The Supreme Court on Aug. 24 declined to stay an injunction by a federal judge against the Biden Administration’s initial attempt to terminate the program. The U.S. Court of Appeals also declined to stay in the injunction.
The MPP program allows immigration agents to send immigrants to a country that borders the United States while awaiting a full hearing before immigration judges. Under the program, between 2019 and 2021, 70,000 asylum-seekers were removed to Mexico.
Opponents argue the asylum-seekers who returned to Mexico were exposed to risks such as gangs, medical issues, murder, and rape.
