Supreme Court Will Review Trump’s Controversial ‘Remain In Mexico’ Asylum Program

Topline

The Supreme Court will review the Trump administration’s policy of forcing most asylum seekers from Central America to wait on the Mexico side of the U.S. border until their day in immigration court, the court said Monday, reopening a controversial part of Trump’s immigration strategy that officials say is meant to discourage illegal entry but critics have called inhumane.

MEXICO-US-MIGRANTS — Central American migrants part of the Migrant Protection Protocols Program look at the line on the … [+] Paso Del Norte International Bridge on February 28, 2020, in Ciudad Juárez.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The Supreme Court agreed to review the administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols — better known as the “Remain in Mexico” program — in its current term, meaning it will likely schedule oral arguments for next year and issue a ruling by June.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.

What To Watch For

The Supreme Court is unlikely to rule on this case until the middle of next year, and presidential contender Joe Biden has promised to eliminate the program if he wins next month’s election. As a result, this court case could end up being moot.

Key Background

Since it was established in early 2019, the Remain in Mexico program has required about 60,000 asylum seekers who attempted to cross the southwest border to wait in Mexico, where they often live in ramshackle camps outside of dangerous border cities. The program is a key facet of President Donald Trump’s strict immigration strategy, designed to discourage people from attempting the harrowing journey across the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration claims the asylum system is buckling due to a surge in applications, and the Remain in Mexico system allows officials to consider people’s cases without releasing asylum seekers into the United States and trusting them to show up for court appearances. However, critics have blasted this policy on both legal and humanitarian grounds. The government is legally required to allow asylum seekers who fear persecution to stay in the United States and generally prohibited from forcing them to return to dangerous situations. Plus, advocates note that a shocking number of migrants required to wait in Mexico end up being kidnapped for ransom in cartel-ridden border towns, or their lives are endangered by the very street gangs that forced them to flee their home countries in the first place.

Chief Critic

“Asylum seekers face grave danger every day this illegal and depraved policy is in effect,” Judy Rabinovitz, an ACLU lawyer who is representing plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case, said in a statement to Forbes. The courts have repeatedly ruled against it, and the Supreme Court should as well.”

Crucial Quote

“We have implemented an unprecedented action that will address the urgent humanitarian and security crisis at the Southern border,” former Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen wrote in a statement announcing the Remain in Mexico program last year. “This humanitarian approach will help to end the exploitation of our generous immigration laws.”

Tangent

The Supreme Court is also examining two other parts of Trump’s immigration strategy. The court will review the president’s plan to use military funds to build his border wall, and it is fast-tracking a case on Trump’s proposal to exclude undocumented immigrants from 2020 U.S. Census counts when it reallocates House of Representatives seats between the 50 states.