Menendez, Escobar Lead Bicameral Letter Condemning Reimplementation of ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy; Urge Biden-Harris Administration to Reverse Expansion of the Program

Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, and Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-Texas-16) today led a bicameral group of lawmakers in expressing their deep disappointment in the reimplementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program, and strongly urged the Biden-Harris Administration to reverse course on the program’s expansion. The re-implementation of MPP subjects more vulnerable asylum seekers to a program that Secretary Mayorkas terminated for imposing “unjustifiable human costs.”

“We are particularly disappointed by your Administration’s decision to expand this program to new populations such as Haitian migrants, limit access to counsel to a 24-hour period in custody, and to expand to additional ports of entry in areas where shelters may not have adequate capacity,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “We are also concerned that the Administration has not announced any plan to prioritize processing for the migrants placed into MPP under the previous administration who still remain in Mexico, many who have been waiting years for court hearings. These choices suggest that your Administration has made a decision to normalize and expand a cruel “deterrent” policy that fails to actually address the root causes of migration and in fact, led to increased migrant recidivism rates.”

During its last implementation, Remain in Mexico denied approximately 68,000 people the ability to prepare their immigration cases in the United States. There were also over 1,500 publicly reported cases of violence against people returned to Mexico under the program, including incidents of rape, kidnapping, and murder.

The lawmakers strongly condemned the current administration for following in the footsteps of the Trump Administration by promising to resolve cases in 180-days, a promise that immigration courts will be unable to meet given their current backlog in cases. They urged the administration to prioritize cases of individuals who have been waiting in Mexico for more than two years.

“Finally, we request that the Administration and DHS stop relying on this xenophobic policy and prioritize the expansion of legal pathways to the United States and refugee protections in the Western Hemisphere. Until robust legal pathways are available, the United States must restart safe and orderly access to our asylum system and stop returning asylum seekers to danger in violation of our laws,” the lawmakers continued. “After four years of cruel, exclusionary, and anti-immigrant policies, returning to failed deterrence policies will not address regional migration.”

Joining Sen. Menendez in signing the letter were Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.). In the House of Representatives, joining Rep. Escobar in signing the letter were Reps. Adriano Espaillat D-N.Y.-13), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.-32), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.-34), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-51), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N.Y.-14), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.-03), Albio Sires (D-N.J.-08), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas-20), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C. Delegate), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-13), Norma Torres (D-Calif.-35), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-Ill.-04), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.-02), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.-06), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-Ga.-04), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.-38), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.-29), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.-04), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.-10), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas-29), and J. Luis Correa (D-Calif.-46).

A copy of today’s letter can be found HERE and below.

Dear President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas:

We write to express our alarm about the reimplementation of the “Remain in Mexico” program or the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). We fully understand that the restart of this program was compelled by a court order, but an injunction does not relieve the Administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from an obligation to reduce the human cost of a program that Secretary Mayorkas himself acknowledges “fails to provide the fair process and humanitarian protections that individuals deserve under the law.” We applauded your Administration’s effort to safely process more than 13,000 individuals who were previously subjected to the policy into the U.S. and your decision to issue a new memorandum to terminate the Remain in Mexico program earlier this year. As such, we are particularly disappointed by your Administration’s decision to expand this program to new populations such as Haitian migrants, limit access to counsel to a 24-hour period in custody, and to expand to additional ports of entry in areas where shelters may not have adequate capacity. We are also concerned that the Administration has not announced any plan to prioritize processing for the migrants placed into MPP under the previous administration who still remain in Mexico, many who have been waiting years for court hearings. These choices suggest that your Administration has made a decision to normalize and expand a cruel “deterrent” policy that fails to actually address the root causes of migration and in fact, led to increased migrant recidivism rates. We ask that you immediately revise the announced expansion to the restart of MPP.

As your Administration has affirmed, the program causes unjustifiable and intolerable human costs. During its last implementation, Remain in Mexico denied approximately 68,000 people the ability to prepare their cases in the United States. People enrolled in MPP experienced a 98 percent denial rate of claims, a rate at least 10 times higher than for those allowed to enter the United States and seek asylum in safety. Asylum seekers enrolled in MPP received an unusually high number of in absentia removal orders because they were unable to safely return to the United States for their court hearing. It is incomprehensible that after one year in office, this Administration is now expanding this program to new populations while fully aware of these due process concerns.

Even more concerning are the humanitarian consequences of this program. There were over 1,500 publicly reported cases of violence against people returned to Mexico under MPP, including multiple incidents of rape, kidnapping, and murder. Today, U.S. Department of State travel advisories warn against travel in areas along Mexico’s northern border due to crime and kidnapping. By placing new nationalities into this program, the Administration is knowingly subjecting even more vulnerable asylum seekers to these dangers. While no asylum seeker deserves to live in dangerous and deplorable conditions, we know these risks are even greater for Haitian migrants, who experience severe racial discrimination in Mexico and language barriers that create additional obstacles to obtaining housing and employment. We urge the Administration to reconsider its inclusion of Haitians, and any nationality not covered by the scope of the court order. We are also troubled by reports that DHS has not announced a plan to limit returns when shelter capacity is reached in Mexico. We urge the Administration to limit returns at a port of entry unless shelter space or alternative housing is available. Finally, in light of the alarming consequences of the first implementation of Remain in Mexico, we urge the Administration to ensure that critical safeguards, including a robust oversight mechanism, are established immediately.

We continue to believe there is no lawful, safe, or humane way to carry out Remain in Mexico. On December 2, 2021, the union representing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum officers condemned its reimplementation, which makes officers “complicit in violations of U.S. federal law and binding international treaty obligations of non-refoulement that they have sworn to uphold.” The same day, the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees declared that the changes the Administration has made “are not sufficient to address the[] fundamental concerns” about the program. On December 6, a group of more than 50 Immigration Judges and Members of the Board of Immigration Appeals criticized the restart, stating that “there has been no greater affront to due process, fairness, and transparency” than Remain in Mexico. In addition, more than 70 legal service providers have already refused to participate in MPP because of its illegality and the inherent safety risks to migrants, lawyers, and humanitarian staff.

Given this reality, we are particularly disappointed that the Administration is making the same promise once made by the Trump Administration to resolve cases in 180-days. We know that our immigration courts will be unable to meet this goal given their current caseload, and we urge the Administration to take every step to reduce the amount of time that migrants wait in Mexico. We also urge the Administration to take every measure to prioritize the cases of individuals who have been waiting in Mexico for more than two years.

Finally, we request that the Administration and DHS stop relying on this xenophobic policy and prioritize the expansion of legal pathways to the United States and refugee protections in the Western Hemisphere. Until robust legal pathways are available, the United States must restart safe and orderly access to our asylum system and stop returning asylum seekers to danger in violation of our laws. After four years of cruel, exclusionary, and anti-immigrant policies, returning to failed deterrence policies will not address regional migration.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and cooperation with this urgent request. We look forward to working with you in the coming days and weeks.

Sincerely,

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