US to resume Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy for asylum-seekers

WASHINGTON - The Biden administration has struck an agreement with Mexico to next week reinstate a Trump-era border policy that forces asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Revival of the "Remain in Mexico" policy comes under a court order even as the administration maneuvers to end it in a way that survives legal scrutiny. President Joe Biden scrapped the policy, but a lawsuit by Texas and Missouri has forced him to put it back into effect.

About 70,000 asylum-seekers have been subject to the policy, which President Donald Trump introduced in January 2019 and which Biden suspended on his first day in office.

Illegal border crossings fell sharply after Mexico, facing Trump’s threat of higher tariffs, acquiesced in 2019 to the policy’s rapid expansion. Asylum-seekers were victims of major violence while waiting in Mexico and faced a slew of legal obstacles, such as access to attorneys and case information.

Migrants are expected to be returned starting Monday at one border city and soon after in three others. They are San Diego and Texas crossings in El Paso, Laredo and Brownsville. The sequence has yet to be determined.

Thursday's announcement follows intense bilateral negotiations between the U.S. and Mexico after U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee in Amarillo, Texas, ordered the policy be reinstated, subject to Mexico's participation.

The policy's new iteration, outlined for reporters by administration officials who spoke on the condition that they not be named, includes major additions and changes that Mexico demanded.

All migrants subject to the policy will be vaccinated against COVID-19. Adults will get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one shot. Children who are eligible under U.S. guidelines will get the Pfizer shot, with second shots when they come to the U.S. for their first hearings.

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The U.S. will try to complete cases within 180 days. The Justice Department is assigning 22 immigration judges to work on these cases exclusively.

U.S. authorities will ask migrants if they fear being returned to Mexico instead of relying on them to raise concerns unprompted. If they express fear, they will be screened and have 24 hours to find an attorney or representative.

The Biden administration is working to ensure migrants' safety when they travel to and from court, including within Mexico. Migrants returned from Laredo and Brownsville, where Mexican border cities are especially dangerous, will be moved to locations further inside Mexico.

Migrants from Western Hemisphere countries will be eligible. U.S. officials haven't said how many will be processed daily. The administration has kept in place another Trump-era policy that allows it to return Central Americans to Mexico on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Migrants will have an opportunity to meet with attorneys before each hearing. The State Department is working with Mexico on locations for video and phone access to attorneys in the U.S. Those features mirror many conditions that Mexico laid out.

It also said that "vulnerable" people should be exempt, including unaccompanied children, pregnant women, physically or mentally ill people, older people, indigenous people and members of the LGBTQ community.

Mexico said it was seeking money from the U.S. for shelters and other organizations to substantially increase support for migrants waiting in Mexico.