The Biden administration is poised to allow an estimated 25,000 asylum-seekers forced to remain in Mexico under former President Trump into the U.S. while they wait for their next immigration court hearings.
The first group of these individuals will be allowed into the country Feb. 19, the Associated Press reports. The plan is to start slowly, with two border locations processing up to 300 people a day and a third taking fewer. AP said officials haven’t named the locations to the press for fear of encouraging a rush of people to those locations.
This move is in direct opposition to former President Trump’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” — better known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Trump introduced the measure in January 2019, forcing about 70,000 asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court hearings. Forcing these individuals to wait out their cases in Mexico subjected them to possible kidnapping and violence in border cities that are largely controlled by illegal gangs. On Biden’s first day in office, his administration suspended the policy for new arrivals. Hearings for those affected by the “Remain in Mexico” policy have been suspended until June 2021 because of the pandemic.
