The Biden administration reached a deal with Mexico to restart the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program, according to U.S. officials.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the administration expects to begin sending migrants back to Mexico beginning on Monday while they await asylum consideration.
President Trump introduced the program, formally called the Migrant Protection Protocols, in 2019 amid heightened border crossings. After the policy was introduced, the surge slowed.
The Biden administration is restarting the program, which Biden called “dangerous and inhumane” during his 2020 campaign, to comply with an order by a Texas federal court that said the attempt to halt the program was unlawful.
The program will exist alongside Title 42, a separate Trump public-health policy allowing the U.S. to quickly send migrants back to Mexico without a chance for asylum. U.S. officials said they would give priority to Title 42 and will only put migrants into the “Remain in Mexico” program if they can’t be sent back using the public-health authority.
U.S. officials also stressed they’ve made several changes to the program in efforts to make it safer for migrants.
Migrants exempted from the program will be expanded to include elderly, physically or mentally disabled, and lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender migrants who could face discrimination in Mexico.
