The Biden Administration will still have to wait “several weeks” to end the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program

The days of the “Remain in Mexico” (MPP) program are numbered, according to the highest authority of National Security in the United States.

“We have to wait until the Supreme Court’s decision is actually communicated to the lower court, to the federal district court in the Northern District of Texas. And once that happens, the district court should lift the injunction that prevents us from ending the program. So we have to wait several weeks for that step to be taken, “he explained on Sunday to the This Week program., of the chain ABCAlejandro Mayorkas, who heads the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Last week, the United States Supreme Court authorized the White House to repeal the programwhich dates back to the administration of Republican Donald Trump and which kept more than 70,000 asylum seekers waiting in Mexico for an appointment in a US court since 2019.

The imminent end of the measure occurs while a record number of irregular crossings is registered on the southern border of the United States and that exceed, according to data from the Border Patrol, the records of several decades ago.

US warns of danger

The White House has promoted various cooperation projects on migration with its allies in the region, Central America and Latin America.

The journey, mainly from Central America through several countries to reach the southern US border, poses various dangers for migrants, who face geographic challenges and human traffickers, something that US authorities insistently warn about.

“We continue to warn people not to make the dangerous journey, we are enforcing our laws. And we are working with countries in the South, including our close ally, Mexico, also with Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia to really address the migration that is going on throughout the Western Hemisphere,” said Mayorkas.

The official assured that the border crisis has generated “unjustifiable” human costs, while Republican leaders warn that the repeal of this measure will increase the crisis on the border.

“The question is no longer whether the Biden Administration has the authority to end the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program, but whether it should. The historic levels of border crossings that are only getting worse, coupled with the rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States, demonstrate the dire need for the Biden administration to urgently secure the Southwest border,” Republican leaders of the Republican Party said in a statement. House of Representatives.

Mayorkas referred to the recent tragedy in San AntonioTexas, in which 53 migrants died asphyxiated in a truck, and took the opportunity to highlight the work of his department against human trafficking.

“These are remarkably different times and we have a multifaceted approach. Not only to work with our allied countries, but also to have law enforcement attack smuggling organizations in an unprecedented way,” he stated.

According to the official, during fiscal year 2022, the border authorities have reported the discovery of more than 400 vehicles that illegally transported migrants, 10,000 of them have been rescued.

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