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2025-01-31 Caribbean-Latin America
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Tijuana braces for next iteration of ‘Remain in Mexico' asylum policy
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[UT Paywalled, sorry] The Mexican government has not formally agreed to it, and the U.S. has offered little clarity on details
When the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy was enacted the first time around in 2019, Tijuana became a place of waiting.
Migrant shelters were at capacity as asylum seekers from around the world settled in for the duration of their immigration court cases unfolding in the U.S., stretching for months or more than a year. Their housing was so tenuous that the U.S. immigration court had difficulty notifying migrants of upcoming hearings. Finding an attorney to represent them from across the border was tough.
And robbers and kidnappers found the waiting migrants to be easy targets.
In an executive order signed on his first day in office, President Donald Trump reinstated the program, known officially as Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP. However, the Mexican government has not formally agreed to it, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies have offered little clarity on how the policy would work a second time around.
The Mexican government previously went along with receiving non-Mexican asylum seekers under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration
When the program was first implemented, it was criticized by human rights groups for putting asylum seekers in danger and leaving many without proper legal representation. At one point, the San Diego immigration court system was overwhelmed by the number of additional cases.
Former President Joe Biden, who once called the policy "inhumane," tried to wind down the policy, but the plan was challenged in court. In December 2021, the Biden administration had to reinstate the program amid litigation brought by Texas and Missouri. Later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the policy could end.
It is estimated that under the policy nearly 70,000 people were sent back to Mexico between 2019 and 2021 to await their cases, according to a report from the nonpartisan organization American Immigration Council. The San Ysidro-Tijuana port of entry was the first along the border to implement it.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that there are ongoing conversations with the U.S. on a number of immigration matters.
When asked Tuesday by the press about Mexico agreeing to receive U.S. planes with deportees from other countries, Sheinbaum said that "more than agreements, there is coordination" with the U.S., which she said has been the case for a long time. Under previous agreements, Mexico has accepted people from certain countries.
’EXPECTING THE WORST’
Those who aid migrants at the border recall the challenges that arose the first time the Remain in Mexico policy was in place and are bracing for its return.
"It created a very difficult and complex situation for people who had to find shelter and a place to continue waiting," said Adriana Jasso, program coordinator with the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego. "(This second time) there are still aspects that are not clear."
The number of migrant encounters at the U.S. border is at its lowest level in years, due to the Biden administration’s executive action to restrict asylum, as well as Mexico’s crackdown on immigration. 
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Posted by Frank G 2025-01-31 00:00||
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File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
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Posted by Skidmark 2025-01-31 07:56||
2025-01-31 07:56||
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Posted by Grom the Affective 2025-01-31 10:26||
2025-01-31 10:26||
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Posted by Skidmark 2025-01-31 17:32||
2025-01-31 17:32||
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