Washington DC, 10 August 2022 (TDI): MSF welcomed the US District Court’s decision to lift the injunction that required DHS (US Department of Homeland Security) to implement the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) in good faith.
Statement on the U.S. District Court’s Decision regarding the Migrant Protections Protocols #MPP
⬇️https://t.co/zBsJhrryuw pic.twitter.com/tiTuLaDqGw— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 9, 2022
DHS is dedicated to bringing an orderly end to the court-ordered implementation of MPP. Individuals are no longer enrolled in MPP, and those currently enrolled in MPP in Mexico will have their enrollment terminated.
Migration Protection Protocol is a Trump-era policy, often referred to as the “remain in Mexico” policy. The program went into effect in January 2019 and was used to return nearly 70,000 migrants to Mexico.
According to a statement released by DHS, no new participants would be newly enrolled in the program from now on. It also acknowledged that “MPP has endemic problems and imposes unjustified human costs.”
Moreover, the district court decision comes after a previous Supreme Court decision that, as of August 1, upholds the Biden administration’s right to terminate the program.
MSF’s response to the termination of MPP
MSF has appreciated the continued efforts by the Biden administration to halt MPP. It also reiterates that DHS must immediately permit the thousands of asylum seekers sent back to Mexico under MPP to enter the US to await their hearings to avoid further harm.
Undoubtedly, MSF teams have treated people who have been directly harmed by one of the most damaging immigration laws ever implemented in the United States.
The terrible impacts of MPP on the health and well-being of those compelled to return to risky cities like Matamoros, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, and Monterrey have been witnessed by MSF’s medical teams in Mexico.
Consequently, with no access to essential services, people there are entrapped in danger and are scared for their lives.
Therefore, MSF is concerned about the deteriorating living circumstances for asylum seekers in Mexico and the effects on people’s physical and mental health.
Concerns over the perpetuation of Title 42
However, the Biden administration continues to follow the Title 42 policy, which has been used to carry out more than 2 million expulsions without due process.
MSF has urged the Biden administration to terminate Title 42 using the same justification used to end the Migration Protection Protocol.
MSF welcomes the Biden administration’s renewed effort to end MPP.
We are relieved that there won’t be more enrollments to MPP, but are concerned for thousands of people previously sent back to Mexico under MPP and the continued expulsions under Title 42. https://t.co/H1EX1iZxTG
— Doctors w/o Borders (@MSF_USA) August 9, 2022
As Title 42 expulsions continue, it is evident that the situation for asylum seekers in Mexico’s northern border communities is rapidly getting worse.
Under Title 42, the US returns migrants and those seeking refuge to Mexico and other countries of origin, including Haiti, Brazil, and Colombia.
Read more: Haitian migrants face huge challenges: UNICEF
MSF has called on the Biden administration to uphold its commitments to establish a secure and humane asylum system. Also, to respect that seeking safety is not a crime, it must reopen asylum processing at the US-Mexico border.
