[Free Beacon] The reimplementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols may do little to curb the surge of migrants at the southern border if the president is unwilling to reach a diplomatic agreement with the Mexican government, giving the White House cover to placate left-wing activists while avoiding being held in contempt of court.Informally known as "Remain in Mexico," the MPP program forces most migrants who apply for asylum to wait in Mexico before their U.S. immigration court hearing. Although a federal court ruled in August that President Joe Biden must keep MPP as an available enforcement tool, the administration has placed the onus for renegotiating the program on Mexico. Nor is it likely a court will force the two countries to reach an agreement.
"It’s going to be hard to put the genie back in the bottle," Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) told the Washington Free Beacon when asked about the feasibility of starting the program again. "What President Biden destroyed is profound and significant."
Proponents credit the Remain in Mexico policy with plummeting apprehensions of illegal immigrants in 2019 and 2020 by disincentivizing attempts to enter the country. They argue Biden's suspension of the policy in January signaled to the world that the southern border was open. Since the policy's repeal, apprehensions of illegal immigrants have surged to an all-time high.
The White House has said it will appeal the court's decision but will comply for now "in good faith." Immigration experts, however, are worried that MPP is effectively dead and that Biden has wiggle room to placate the demands of the court and left-wing activists who call the policy inhumane and a violation of the nation's obligation to care for asylum seekers.
"In the short term, the Biden administration can say, ’There's nothing we can do, the Mexican government won't cooperate,'" said Jessica Vaughn, the director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. "But ultimately the U.S. is the subject of Mexico's demands, which is not a place you want to be in when conducting diplomacy, especially if the Biden administration behind the scenes actually wants a deal because of political pressure."
In a court filing earlier this year, attorneys for the White House said the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry will not "accept MPP enrollees" without "certain improvements to the program," such as not allowing sick migrants back into the country. An Oct. 14 statement from the Department of Homeland Security said that Mexico "must make an independent decision to accept the return of individuals without status in Mexico as part of any reimplementation of MPP."
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