Missouri and Texas Attorney Generals prevail at Supreme Court in “Remain in Mexico” Case

Supreme Court of the United States or SCOTUS
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Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Texas Attorney General’s Office have prevailed over the Biden Administration for a 3rd time in their lawsuit over the “Remain in Mexico” policy as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Missouri and Texas in a 6-3 denial of the Department of Justice’s appeal for an emergency stay. The Biden Administration will now be required to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, or “Remain in Mexico” Policy.

“Back in April, along with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, I filed suit against the Biden Administration over their suspension of the Migrant Protection Protocols, or the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy, a successful President Trump-era policy that helped fight the crisis at the border,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “After we won at the federal court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, we have again prevailed over Biden’s Department of Justice at the Supreme Court tonight – the Migrant Protection Protocols must be reinstated. This is a huge win for border security and the rule of law, and highlights our efforts to continually fight back on federal government overreach.”

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Attorney General’s Office filed suit against the Biden Administration in April after their suspension of the Migrant Protection Protocols, or “Remain in Mexico” policy, a successful Trump-era immigration policy.

On August 13th, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide permanent injunction, reversing Biden’s cancellation of the MPP and requiring the Biden Administration to re-implement MPP. The Department of Justice sought an emergency stay, which was denied by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on August 20th, and again denied by the Supreme Court of the United States tonight.

Aimed at reducing a key incentive to illegal immigration – the ability to stay in the United States during immigration proceedings, even without valid claims to asylum – the Migrant Protection Protocols were implemented by President Trump in 2018 and related to migrants who have no legal entitlement to enter the United States but who depart from a third country and transit through Mexico to reach the United States land border.

Before the Migrant Protection Protocols were enacted by the Trump Administration, illegal aliens hoping to gain entry into the United States would attempt to “game” the immigration system by traveling from a third country like Guatemala or Nicaragua through Mexico and claiming asylum in the United States. More often than not, those who made unmeritorious or unsubstantiated claims for asylum were arrested at the border, given a notice to appear, and admitted into the United States. Those who were released into the interior often never showed up to their court dates and disappeared.

Through the Migrant Protection Protocols, migrants who were eligible for the MPP, which was determined by an immigration official at the border, were given a Notice to Appear and were returned to Mexico to await those proceedings. These protocols significantly reduced detention and enforcement burdens on the Department of Homeland Security and others.

On January 20, 2021, President Biden suspended the Migrant Protection Protocols in a two-sentence memo. Concerned about the impact that a surge in illegal immigration could mean for the exacerbation of human trafficking at the border and in Missouri, the Missouri and Texas attorneys general filed suit in April 2021 to halt Biden’s suspension and secure the Southern border. That policy is now required to be re-implemented by the Biden Administration.

Photo by Claire Anderson on Unsplash


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