President Joe Biden’s administration’s decision to cease the Trump administration’s practice of sending migrants back to Mexico while they awaited legal hearings did not violate immigration law, the Supreme Court concluded on Thursday.
Just a few days after a semi-truck load of migrants was discovered abandoned in San Antonio with 53 dead inside, the Biden administration move was supported by a 5-4 decision.
Donald Trump implemented the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) to assist control the influx of migrants at the border and around the nation as they were released pending immigration proceedings.
All three liberal justices and fellow conservative Brett Kavanaugh joined conservative Chief Justice John Roberts in the opinion that supported the Biden administration.
The remaining three conservative Justices, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney Barrett, concurred in the dissenting opinion that was written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito.
Republicans criticized the decision right once, saying it would result in an increase in illegal border crossings, drug trafficking, and tragic human smuggling, like as the event on Monday where 53 migrants perished in the back of a hot tractor trailer.
According to Republican senator from Indiana Mike Braun, the Remain in Mexico strategy helped to tame the border surge.
He made a point of highlighting the effectiveness of preventing Northern Triangle migrants from crossing illegally.
Braun tweeted after the decision on Thursday, “From day one, President Biden has sought to remove every tool we have to stop this chaos, hanging a ‘WELCOME’ sign on our southern border.”
More illegal border crossings, more lethal fentanyl on the streets, and more terrible human tragedies like the 50 migrants who died while being carried across the border in a semi, according to him, are the consequences.
We require Remain in Mexico to maintain border security.
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, who represents a border state and is a fervent supporter of President Trump, declared: “Terminating ‘Remain in Mexico’ will only make the issue worse.”
He continued, ‘Just because the Court says you can doesn’t mean you should,’ urging the government not to implement the decision.
The MPP, often referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, became effective in January 2019.
Trump and the Mexican government came to an agreement to send back migrants who entered Mexico and applied for asylum in the United States.
In February 2021, Biden terminated MPP, but he was immediately confronted with legal troubles.
The Biden administration was found to have broken the law when he reversed the policy, according to lower courts.
However, the Supreme Court announced its decision on Thursday, concluding that the administration’s reduction of MPP did not violate section 1225 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The administration had earlier in the year been ordered by a federal judge to begin the program, so the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a document on October 29, 2021, reiterating its effort to halt MPP.
In rescinding the regulation, the administration, according to this judge, violated basic regulatory procedure.
The October memo “constituted definitive agency action,” according to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday.
California Representative Jimmy Gomez claimed that MPP are “pushing people” into these dangerous situations after reports that scores of migrants were discovered dead and critically ill in the back of a semi-truck after an alleged smuggling attempt.
He wrote, “Absolutely awful news.” People who merely desire a better life for themselves and their families are being forced into deadly situations by Trump-era laws like #Title42 and #MPP, according to the statement.
Republicans and Democrats instantly entered the blame game after the bloodiest attempt at human smuggling in American history, saying that the deaths were caused by the policies of the opposing parties.
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, stated during a press conference on Wednesday that the Biden administration’s failure to enforce immigration laws is drawing individuals and luring them to embark on this extremely perilous journey, costing them their lives.
I implore you, Mr. President: end the loss of life. If you make it plain that no one can enter illegally, you have the power to prevent individuals from losing their lives.
There is a completely legal way for anyone to enter the United States of America. You must insist on that lawful route, Mr. President, and if you do, you’ll play a part in lowering the number of fatalities.
Abbott isn’t “dealing with the realities of the matter,” according to Vice President Harris in an interview with NPR that was broadcast on Tuesday.
The vice president stated that the governor’s approach, which was to immediately turn to politics after discovering 50 dead bodies in his state, “truly illustrates part of the problem.”
In the days following the disaster, the death toll increased from 50 to 53, and as of Wednesday, 34 of the dead had been officially recognized. Other survivors who experienced internal hemorrhage and brain damage are in severe condition.
At his news conference on Wednesday, Abbott stated, “President Biden was warned in advance that weaker border enforcement would result in severe repercussions, and we have seen these dire consequences.”
Homero Zamorano, the truck’s 45-year-old driver, was “quite high on meth” when he was apprehended, according to the police.
He allegedly attempted to pass for one of the victims in an effort to escape being discovered.