The United States Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Tuesday night to uphold President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy amid the crisis at the southern border. The Biden administration will now be required to reinstate the Trump-era immigration policy, ending the court battle on the matter.
The Trump-era policy requires that immigrants remain in Mexico while trying to gain asylum into the United States as they await hearings to determine their eligibility and status.
This comes after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 last week that Trump’s Migration Protection Protocols policy, also dubbed the “Remain in Mexico” policy, must be reinstated by the Biden administration. Shortly thereafter, Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay last week, pausing reinstatement until the Biden administration’s appeal was heard.
Joe Biden suspended the “Remain in Mexico” policy during his first day in office, arguing that it was cruel to migrants. The Department of Homeland Security announced that it was permanently terminating the program in June.
The Supreme Court had the final word on Tuesday ruling that the Biden administration violated federal law in its decision to end the program. Liberal Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor dissented and did not offer an opinion on their views.
The decision comes as border crossings hit an all-time high. Over 212,000 people attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in July, the highest numbers reported since 2000.
Republican-led states Missouri and Texas sued the Biden administration, arguing that ending the policy was illegal and harmful to states as it would lead to migrants committing crimes in their states, human trafficking, and higher costs of education and health care.
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favor of restarting the Migration Protection Protocols program.
