ILAP Welcomes SCOTUS Decision Allowing Administration to End Remain in Mexico, Calls for Immediate and Comprehensive Action For Asylum and Human Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 30, 2022
CONTACT: Lisa Parisio, lparisio@ilapmaine.org

PORTLAND, ME – The Supreme Court ruled on June 30 that the Biden administration has the authority to end the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols or Remain in Mexico program. Remain in Mexico, first put in place under the previous administration, is a senseless and racist border policy that forces asylum seekers to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexico while trying to exercise their right to seek asylum in the United States. The SCOTUS decision comes just days after more than 50 people died in a tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas, trying to access safety, security, and the opportunity for a better life in the United States. 

“Remain in Mexico is a travesty of human rights and due process,” said Sue Roche, Executive Director at the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP). “As we welcome this decision, we must not forget the tens of thousands who have been harmed and the lives lost under this unconscionable policy, including those forced into impossible decisions because they had no safe way to seek asylum at our border. ”

A 2021 report documents more than 1,500 known cases of people in need of asylum being raped, kidnapped, tortured, and murdered due to the Remain in Mexico program. 

“The Biden administration must move swiftly to finally end Remain in Mexico as there are thousands of people in harm's way, ” said Lisa Parisio, ILAP’s Policy and Outreach Attorney. “This is one of many steps needed to create a just and accessible asylum system in line with U.S. and international law and principles and basic human morality. The Biden administration must also immediately end Title 42, which like Remain in Mexico, is rooted in racism, xenophobia, and the politicization of human life.” 

In addition to access to asylum and due process at the border, ILAP calls on Congress and the Biden administration to address bias throughout every step and stage of the system, including in the Boston Asylum Office which serves asylum seekers in Maine.