The U.S. Supreme Court gave the Biden administration victory. It allowed it to repeal the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy.
The vote was 5-4. Chief Justice John Roberts was the author of the court’s opinion. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett and three other liberals were also present. Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were joined by Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch.
Trump’s policy required that asylum seekers, mostly from south and central America, were either detained in the U.S., or sent to Mexico, where they waited for their asylum claims to be reviewed.
The policy was formally known under the Migrant Protection Protocols. Last June, the Biden administration attempted to repeal it. Federal district Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk was appointed by Trump and ordered that the administration restart the program. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also agreed. The Supreme Court sided in favor of the administration on Thursday.
One major criticism of Trump’s Remain in Mexico program is that it failed to meet its own policy demands. Congress has not allocated sufficient money to hold all asylum seekers. Since 1996, this federal immigration law was in effect, and no administration has been capable of complying with it.
Biden’s administration has a plan that would allow asylum claims to be delegated to border control officers and customs officers who are specially trained, instead of to immigration courts. There are currently 400,000 cases pending. Asylum seekers who are granted protection may be allowed to remain in the U.S. without having to go through the immigration courts. An immigration judge would review the cases of those denied asylum within 90 days before they are deported.
