Court Blocks Trump Administration From Sending Asylum Seekers To Mexico

GUATEMALA-HONDURAS-US-MIGRATION-CARAVAN

A federal appeals court handed the Trump administration a significant defeat, blocking one of their central immigration policies. A three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco blocked the Migrant Protection Protocols program, which required people applying for asylum to remain in Mexico while their petition was processed and reviewed.

The judges said that the program puts people in danger while they wait in Mexico for the bureaucratic process to play out, which can take months or years.

"The MPP has had serious adverse consequences for the individual plaintiffs," Judge William Fletcher wrote. "Plaintiffs presented evidence in the district court that they, as well as others returned to Mexico under the MPP, face targeted discrimination, physical violence, sexual assault, overwhelmed and corrupt law enforcement, lack of food and shelter, and practical obstacles to participation in court proceedings in the United States. The hardship and danger to individuals returned to Mexico under the MPP have been repeatedly confirmed by reliable news reports."

The program, referred to as the "Remain in Mexico" policy, was instituted in January 2019 and has resulted in more than 59,000 asylum seekers being sent back to Mexico. Officials in the Trump administration have cited the policy as the reason for a drop in the number of arrests at the border.

Photo: Getty Images


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content