Biden’s DHS to restart ‘Remain in Mexico’ Trump-era policy in November after court order

These Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) enacted in 2019 involve sending migrants to Mexico while the US processes their immigration cases.

On President Joe Biden's first day in office he issued a memorandum suspending the MPP with the formal termination by DHS arriving by June 1 of this year.

Fast forward to August 2021 and a district court ruled against the Biden administration for ending the MPP policy in a lawsuit brought forward by Missouri and Texas. This meant reinstating the program. The Biden administration resisted further but SCOTUS said the White House had to bring it back.

Homeland Security is doing that according to NBC, but is also open to putting these plans on hold if Biden wins the lawsuit.

In the latest news, the Biden administration filed to the courts an update of their progress: "DHS has, among other things, engaged in a number of high-level and ongoing virtual and in person discussions with the Government of Mexico (GOM); continued to finalize the operation plans that will be required to quickly re-implement MPP; worked closely with the Department of Justice and other interagency partners to ensure that the immigration courts are prepared to hear the cases of those subject to MPP on a timely basis; and issued the contracts required to rebuild the soft-sided Immigration Hearing Facilities (IHFs) in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas."

(Click here to read the Department of Homeland Security's update.)

It’s through this legal filing we’re told of the mid-November projection to bring back MPP into force. The response stresses the need for clear communication with Mexico officials about what the Biden administration is intending, here. DHS says the Mexican government is making demands about accepting migrants in this agreement, saying they want a six-month turnaround time for people’s cases.

In a statement to Fox News, Missouri’s Attorney General Eric Schmitt accused the Biden administration of taking things slowly on purpose.

"Despite multiple courts ordering the Biden Administration to reimplement the policy, they have repeatedly slow-walked that reimplementation. The ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy should be implemented today, especially as the crisis at the border continues to worsen every single day. We have taken concrete action to secure the border, it's time for the Biden Administration to do the same."

Homeland Security says all the steps they’re taking are necessary, despite their recent attempt to appeal the court ruling.