Since taking office in January, US President Joe Biden sought to reverse the hardline immigration policies by his predecessor Donald Trump. Following the recent ruling by the mostly conservative Supreme Court, immigration advocates are now urging Biden to fight the reinstatement of Trump’s immigration policies.
Democratic lawmakers, as well as immigration advocates, have urged Biden Wednesday to implement measures that could fight the reinstatement of the immigration policy of the disgraced former president following the Supreme Court ruling of the “remain in Mexico” program. The court ruled Tuesday that Biden must adhere to a ruling by a Texas-based federal judge that the Trump-era program would be implemented, although federal officials are allowed to reimplement the program at their discretion.
Republican-led legislatures of Texas and Missouri cited that Biden did not follow the appropriate legal process in ending the policy. The policy that was implemented by Trump during his presidency forced thousands of migrants seeking asylum to stay in Mexico as they wait for their hearings in the US. Also known as the Migrant Protection Policy, it was reversed by Biden in January.
A Democratic congressional aide told Reuters that the Biden administration could slow-walk the reimplementation of the program. Another option, according to the aide, was to draw out negotiations with Mexico, which is already being done. According to Mexican foreign ministry official Roberto Velasco, the US government is already communicating with Mexico over the Supreme Court ruling.
The Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement that as they are not bound by the Supreme Court’s decision, they will exercise their authority in designing and executing migration policies.
Meanwhile, Biden is still tackling the recent evacuation efforts being done in Afghanistan as tens of thousands of Afghans and Americans are being flown out of the country to flee from the Taliban. According to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, he believes that Biden is close to supporting a peace conference by the G20 to focus on Afghanistan in September. The conference would include their counterparts in China, Russia, and Turkey, along with other key figures that are in contact with the insurgent group.