Asylum Is A Right: The fight to end the Migrant Protection Program (MPP) continues.
The fight continues to end the xenophobic Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), better known as the “Remain In Mexico” policy.
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rejected President Joe Biden’s bid to block a Texas-based U.S District Court Judge’s ruling that forces the reinstatement of the MPP program. The Trump-era program has kept thousands of families waiting on the Mexican side of known dangerous areas of the U.S.-Mexico border while they await their immigration court hearings.
The ruling was made by a 6-3 conservative majority court, with three liberal justices dissenting. The court currently includes three justices appointed by Trump.
“MPP will go down in history as one of the most vicious and explicitly xenophobic policies in the history of American immigration law,” stated Emma Kahn, NMILC’s Detention & Asylum Program Coordinator. “It is a policy that enacts constant, systematic violence onto individuals and families who are already fleeing forms of structural persecution. The layers of trauma that MPP has forced onto people who seek protection from our government are unforgettable and unforgivable.”
It is imperative that the Biden Administration keep their promise to end the MPP program for the well being of thousands of migrant and asylum-seeking families. According to the Immigration Justice Campaign, under MPP, more than 70,000 people were retuned to Mexico to await their court hearings with waiting times extending anywhere from months to years.
Asylum is a right, and asylum seekers deserve the opportunity to go through the process without having to sacrifice their safety and well-being.
Flaviano Graciano is the Communications Manager for the NMILC.
Published August 31, 2021
Written by Flaviano Graciano, NMILC Communications Manager.
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