Supreme Court reinstates “Remain in Mexico” policy

With three liberal justices dissenting, SCOTUS concluded Tuesday the Biden administration is likely violating federal law by trying to end the Migration Protection Protocols program. The program made asylum seekers stay in Mexico while awaiting U.S. hearings. A federal judge in Texas ordered the process to be reinstated, while the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to put the ruling on hold. President Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office, and the Homeland Security Department ended it in June.

What comes next? The 5th Circuit had ordered the administration to make a “good faith effort” to restart the program. That gives some discretion on how to implement the policy. But the administration could also make another attempt to end it. The Department of Homeland Security said it regrets the court’s decision in a statement and promised to continue to challenge the district court’s order.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s interview on The World and Everything in It with former U.S. Border Patrol sector chief Victor Manjarrez about the crisis at the U.S. southern border.