The Department of Homeland Security’s Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the Remain in Mexico Policy, was first announced in January and initially put into place at the San Ysidro port of entry, which includes Tijuana, and San Diego, California. DHS recently announced the expansion of the new procedures in Eagle Pass, Texas and beyond in the near future. This harmful policy returns vulnerable asylum seekers to Mexico to wait while their cases are pending in U.S. immigration courts. The Remain in Mexico policy exposes them to great risk of harm, limits asylum seeker’s access to counsel, and does not provide a viable solution to the root causes of Central American migration flows.
Asylum seekers arriving at our southern border have been driven from their homes by unspeakable and unrelenting violence. Countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have some of the highest homicide rates in the world for countries that are not classified as being at war. DHS’s Remain in Mexico policy is detrimental to the safety and well-being of children, families and asylum seekers in general. Today, we are compelled to send the message loud and clear that DHS must end this harmful and immoral policy.
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