The U.S. Supreme Court Decides to Send Asylum Seekers to Danger

WASHINGTON- Today, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stay a ruling from a lower Texas court that would force the Biden administration to revive the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)—an illegal Trump-era policy that sent thousands of people seeking humanitarian protection to dangerous areas of Mexico to await their hearings.

The lower court decision ignored many critical and devastating facts demonstrating that MPP was a humanitarian catastrophe. Asylum seekers were murdered, raped, kidnapped, extorted, and compelled to live in squalid conditions where they faced significant procedural barriers to meaningfully presenting their protection claims.

The following statement is from Kate Melloy Goettel, Legal Director of Litigation at the American Immigration Council:

"Thousands of people have suffered the horrible consequences of the Migrant Protection Protocols. The Supreme Court has now upheld the Texas court's decision and, instead of keeping MPP a stain in the history books, it will continue to be a present-day disaster.

“Forcing vulnerable families and children to wait in provisional camps in Mexico puts their lives at risk, while also making it nearly impossible for them to access the asylum process. The Biden administration can and must work to terminate the policy again immediately. Rather than turning away people fleeing harm, we should ensure people have a fair day in court.”

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For more information, contact:

Melissa Cruz at the American Immigration Council, [email protected]