The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Joe Biden did not violate immigration law when the administration put an end to the Trump-era policy that allowed migrants to be sent back to Mexico to await immigration proceedings.
The 5-4 ruling in favor of the Biden administration move comes just days after a semi-truck full of migrants was found abandoned near San Antonio with 53 dead inside.
The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) was put in place by Donald Trump to help quell the build-up of migrants at the border and throughout the country, as they were released pending immigration hearings.
Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, delivered the opinion taking the Biden administration’s side – he was joined by all three liberal justices as well as fellow conservative Brett Kavanuagh.
The dissenting opinion was written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito and was joined by the remaining conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Republicans immediately lashed out at the move, claiming an end to MPP will lead to an increase in illegal crossings, drug trafficking, and deadly human smuggling – including the incident on Monday where 53 migrants died in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer.
Indiana GOP senator Mike Braun said that the Remain in Mexico policy worked to reduce the surge at the southern border. He specifically pointed to the efficacy of stopping Northern Triangle migrants from illegally crossing.
‘From day one, President Biden has tried to remove every tool we have to stop this chaos, hanging a ‘WELCOME’ sign on our southern border,’ Braun tweeted following the ruling on Thursday.
‘The result is more illegal border crossings, more deadly fentanyl on our streets, and more horrible humanitarian tragedies like the 50 migrants who died being smuggled across the border in a semi,’ he added.
‘We need Remain in Mexico for a secure border.’
Arizona Representative Andy Biggs, a border state lawmaker and huge Trump ally, said: ‘Terminating ‘Remain in Mexico’ will only make the crisis worse.’
‘Just because the Court says you can doesn’t mean you should,’ he added in an urge for the administration not to act on the ruling.
MPP, more commonly known as the Remain in Mexico policy, was enacted in January 2019. Trump reached a deal with the Mexican government to return migrants arriving through Mexico and seeking asylum in the U.S.
Biden ended MPP in February 2021 but was immediately met with legal challenges.
Lower courts ruled that the Biden administration violated federal law when he rescinded the policy.
The Supreme Court, however, issued its ruling on Thursday stating that the administration did not violate section 1225 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with the recession of MPP.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo on October 29, 2021, renewing its effort to end MPP after the administration was earlier in the year ordered by a federal judge to restart the program.
That judge claimed the administration failed to follow proper regulatory procedure when rescinding the policy.
The Supreme Court held on Thursday that the October memo had ‘constituted final agency action’ on the matter.
After news broke that dozens of migrants were found dead and in critical condition in the back of a semi-truck in an apparent smuggling attempt, California Representative Jimmy Gomez said MPP is ‘forcing people into these deadly situations.
‘Absolutely horrifying news,’ he wrote. ‘Trump-era policies like #Title42 and #MPP are forcing people — who only want a better life for themselves and their families — into deadly conditions.’
The deadliest human smuggling attempt in American history immediately launched Republicans and Democrats into the blame game, claiming that the opposite parties’ policies are to blame for the loss of life.
‘Because of the way that the Biden administration is not enforcing the immigration laws, it’s attracting people and enticing people to make this very dangerous trek, causing them to lose their lives,’ Texas GOP Governor Greg Abbott said during a press conference on Wednesday.
‘I urge the president: Stop the loss of lives,’ he added. ‘You have the ability to stop people from losing their lives if you make it clear that nobody can come across illegally.’
‘There’s a perfectly legal way that people can immigrate to the United States of America. It’s that legal pathway, Mr. President, that you must insist upon – and if you do that, you will have a role in reducing the loss of life.’
VP Harris said in an interview with NPR released Tuesday that Abbott isn’t ‘dealing with the realities of the issue.’
‘How the governor of that state responded really highlights part of the problem because his response when there are 50 dead bodies in his state is to go straight to politics,’ the vice president said.
The death toll rose from 50 to 53 in the days after the tragedy and as of Wednesday officials had identified 34 of the deceased. Several other survivors are in critical condition after suffering brain damage and internal bleeding.
‘President Biden was warned in advance that reduced border enforcement would lead to dire consequences, and we have seen those dire consequences,’ Abbott said at his press conference Wednesday afternoon.
The driver of the truck Homero Zamorano, 45, was ‘very high on meth’ at the time of his arrest, according to police.
He allegedly tried to disguise himself as one of the victims to avoid being caught.
Source: dailymail
