Confusion on the US-Mexico border: Court halts Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ rule then reverses the decision

AUSTIN — Confusion ricocheted across the border Friday as a federal appeals court blocked the Trump administration’s policy of returning asylum-seekers to Mexico to await court hearings, a practice immigrant advocates have denounced as inhumane and deadly.

An earlier decision Friday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dealt a blow to the Trump administration. The process — called the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, also known as “Remain in Mexico” — had been seen as a successful tool in President Donald Trump’s asylum crackdown.

Throngs of migrants in the program began gathering at international crossings in Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros, buoyed by the chance of being let into the U.S. The crossing this morning remained under heavy guard.

But the decision — and migrants’ hopes — lasted only a few hours. About 7 p.m. Friday, the 9th Circuit judges granted an emergency stay on the injunction, as requested by the Trump administration, effectively reinstating MPP while further arguments are heard. The case appears to be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This evening, with support of DOJ attorneys and CBP’s declaration, the 9th Circuit granted a stay of its earlier order enjoining MPP,” Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan tweeted Late Friday. “@CBP will immediately reinstate MPP!”

Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan✔@CBPMarkMorgan

This evening, with support of DOJ attorneys and CBP’s declaration, the 9th Circuit granted a stay of its earlier order enjoining MPP. @CBP will immediately reinstate MPP!61310:31 PM – Feb 28, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy304 people are talking about this

Since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rolled out the program in January 2019, the U.S. government has sent back more than 60,000 people to seven Mexican border cities from Tijuana to Matamoros. Those included some of those most dangerous areas of the border, exposing migrants to assaults, kidnappings, murders and extortion.

Source: USA Today

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