On February 28, a three-judge panel of the ninth US circuit court of appeals ruled to stop the policy which made asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases are heard
A few hours later however and the same federal appeals court had suspended its own order pending fresh arguments, leaving the policy implemented by the Trump administration known as Migrant Protection Protocols (“MPP”) in place. The court has also decided to retain the policy that denies asylum to anyone who enters the US illegally from Mexico.
Previously, migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border without proper documentation were either released or detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many of the migrants included families with children, the majority of whom came from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Last year, the rapid rise in the number of border apprehensions reached a peak of 133,000 in May 2019, the highest monthly tally since March 2006, and lead the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to find new ways to staunch the flow.
The MMP (also known as Remain in Mexico) together with the Prompt Asylum Case Review programme and the Humanitarian Asylum Review Programme, have been crucial to reducing the number of asylum applications in the US. Together the policies work to remove asylum eligibility for individuals who transit through another country to reach the US-Mexico border, rule on any humanitarian claims and remove from the system within ten days any applicants who do not meet the required standards. Introduced as an interim final rule on July 16, 2019, the Supreme Court in September 2019 cleared the way for DHS to apply it to all non-Mexican migrants who cross the US-Mexico border or arrive at a port of entry without valid documents. Those who transit through another country and who cannot demonstrate they applied for, and were denied asylum there, are also ineligible to apply for asylum in the US.
Some success
In the months since the MMP and then the new transit-country rules were implemented, approval rates at the initial, credible-fear interview stage of an asylum process declined from 80 per cent. in June 2019 to 45 per cent. in December 2019. This is likely explained by the fact that migrants deemed ineligible to apply for asylum under the transit-country rule are formally treated as having failed the credible-fear determination. The fall in border patrol arrests from a 13-year high in May 2019 also suggest the policies have worked with the DHS referring to it as “an indispensable tool” in an October 2019 report.
From a humanitarian perspective, the policies have created unbearable circumstances for migrants and exposed asylum seekers to danger and violence in Mexican border cities while they wait for US court hearings. Although the Mexican government has pledged to provide work permits and access to healthcare, housing and educational opportunities to the waiting migrants, these promises have largely gone unfulfilled.
