24 AUG 2021

Immigration Hub: U.S. Supreme Court Gets It Wrong

Washington, DC — This evening, the United States Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling to reinstate President Trump’s Remain in Mexico (MPP) program, following Justice Samuel Alito’s late Friday action to temporarily stay the lower court’s decision. In response, Immigration Hub’s Executive Director, Sergio Gonzales, released the following statement: 

“It’s incredibly disappointing that a majority of the Supreme Court sided with right-wing, activist judges in Texas and the nativist motivations of the former administration to support a program so cruel and so unjust that it forced thousands of vulnerable mothers, fathers, children and families seeking asylum into camps at the risk of extreme violence. Put simply, the Supreme Court got it wrong and at the expense of human life.

“President Biden’s efforts to end the program were aimed at bringing the U.S. back into compliance with domestic and international law, tackling the chaos left behind by the previous administration by creating an orderly and fair system to process asylum-seekers. MPP, by all intents and purposes, was a failed, dangerous and tumultuous program that upended border processing, drew in organized crime and led to the documented rape, kidnapping and other violence of thousands of asylum seekers.

“In the short term, the Biden-Harris administration must use every tool to minimize the harm of today’s Supreme Court’s ruling while continuing to challenge the underlying case. President Biden must immediately draft a new policy that leads to the termination of MPP and protects all individuals who were already approved through the prior process, and - in the meantime - grant humanitarian parole to all in danger at our border as the 5th Circuit recognized in its decision earlier this week.

“Today, the highest court of the land does a disservice to America’s tradition to do right by those seeking safety and refuge, the very principle that has long guided who we are and aspire to be as a nation. The Administration should act quickly as thousands of lives are now once again at risk.” 

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.