US and Mexico Resume Controversial Trump Migrant Program | News from Germany on world events

The United States and Mexico will resume the controversial migrant program that ran under President Donald Trump on Monday, December 6. Launched in 2018, this program requires Central American migrants to first return to Mexico, from where they must apply for asylum in the United States.

As part of the “Remain in Mexico” program, about 70 thousand migrants were returned from the American border to Mexico. Trump’s successor to the presidency of the United States, Joe Biden, who promised to treat refugees more humanely during the campaign, intended to stop the program, but a federal court decided to reopen it based on lawsuits from the states of Texas and Missouri.

The Biden administration failed to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court. As a result, the Mexican government on December 2 decided “for humanitarian reasons” to restore the controversial program from December 6.

Criticism from human rights defenders

Human rights groups accused Biden of hiding behind a court decision instead of looking for ways to avoid resuming the program. According to human rights defenders, migrants deported to Mexico often have to wait up to 15 months for decisions on their asylum applications in extremely difficult conditions.

“A return to this inhumane policy will worsen conditions and increase the uncertainty of people seeking asylum in the United States on the border with Mexico,” activists stated.

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Author: Sabrina Pabst, Alexandra Elkina