SCOTUSblog by Amy Howe 2/18/2022
The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to decide whether the Biden administration must continue to enforce the Trump-era program known as the “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for a hearing in U.S. immigration court. The justices fast-tracked the administration’s appeal, setting the case for oral argument in late April – with a decision expected before the court’s summer recess.
The justices have had extensive experience with the policy, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, since the Trump administration announced it in 2018. In March 2020, the court allowed the Trump administration to begin enforcing the policy after a federal district judge in California blocked it. In October 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to review a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit holding that the policy was likely inconsistent with both federal immigration law and international law, but the justices dismissed the case in June 2021 after the Biden administration ended the policy. Critics of the policy say that it forces asylum seekers to reside in dangerous and unsanitary camps in Mexican border towns.
Texas and Missouri went to federal court in Texas to challenge the Biden administration’s decision to end the policy. They contend that the decision to terminate the policy violated both federal immigration law and the federal law governing the procedures that federal agencies must follow. Without the policy, they allege, large numbers of migrants can enter the United States based on dubious asylum claims, imposing costs on the states.
More:
https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/02/justices-agree-to-review-bidens-attempt-to-unwind-trump-era-asylum-policy/
