Supreme Court Certifies Its Ruling Ending the Remain in Mexico Policy

The Supreme Court certified its ruling issued a month ago that ends the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain in Mexico policy. Joe Biden signed off on ending the program on his first day in office and his executive order received legal challenges that have now come to an end. With just two words, this ruling was certified.

The two-word docket entry read “judgment issued” to record that justices voted 5-4 in a ruling issued June 30 that the administration could scrap the “Remain in Mexico” policy, overruling a lower court that forced the policy to be reinstated in December.

Biden campaigned on ending Trump’s border policies and agreements, like the Remain in Mexico policy with Mexico. The program was successful in that it provided a place for migrants seeking asylum to stay until their cases can be processed. Biden and Democrats criticized the program, as they did other policies, and Biden came into office hellbent to do away with everything Trump was doing along the southern border. That is how we got the Biden border crisis. Biden extended an open invitation for migrants to come to the border and expect to be allowed in. Once in the country, they are usually allowed to stay, thanks to Biden’s open border recklessness.

Thirty days after a Supreme Court decision is announced, the ruling is certified. As Ed wrote last month, it is curious that the Biden administration has not taken the win and abandoned the policy. Oddly enough, it is still being used, though not to a big extent. When the certification came out Monday, no one had a comment. The DOJ declined to make a comment and officials in Mexico didn’t have any comment, either.

I don’t think Mayorkas or anyone in DHS knows what to do. The Biden administration is known for being caught flat-footed and this may be another example of that.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said shortly after the Supreme Court victory that justices would need to communicate the decision to a lower court, which, in turn, should lift the order to keep the policy in place in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas. Beyond that, administration officials have said little, including whether any of the thousands subject to the policy since December will be allowed to enter and remain in the United States while their cases are being considered in immigration court.

The number of migrants in the program has dropped dramatically since the Trump administration days, even though the number of migrants has soared to over 2 million since Biden took office.

About 70,000 migrants were subject to the policy, known officially as “Migrant Protection Protocols,” or MPP, from when former President Donald Trump introduced it in January 2019 until President Joe Biden suspended it on his first day in office in January 2021, fulfilling a campaign promise. Many were allowed to return to the United States to pursue their cases during the early months of Biden’s presidency.

Nearly 5,800 people have been subject to the policy from December through June, according to figures released Friday, a modest number that would make any reluctance to end it seem less plausible. Nicaraguans account for the largest number, with others from Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela.

A sign posted last week at the entrance to the Salvation Army migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration appeared to best capture the public understanding of the policy’s status: “Wait for official information! The Remain in Mexico (MPP) program remains in effect. The United States government will inform you of any changes.”

The final move may rest with U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, a Trump appointee whose ruling last year brought “Remain in Mexico” back.

Biden promised to fill his cabinet and staff with seasoned professionals. He said they would keep the government running smoothly. Instead of professional operations, we have an administration that continues to project ineptness and incompetence. No one knows what is going on. In the meantime, the border is wide open and thousands of migrants are crossing the border every week.

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