Federal Court Keeps 'Remain in Mexico' Immigration Policy for Now

AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton last night secured a significant victory against the Biden Administration with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas staying the implementation of a rule that would end the Migrant Protection Protocols (“MPP”), otherwise known as the “Remain-in-Mexico” program.

MPP is a Trump-era policy that was created by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to deal with the increasing threat of illegal aliens by requiring them to remain in Mexico as they work through their immigration status, as opposed to letting them roam freely in communities across the country. However, in 2021, the Biden Administration attempted to terminate the policy, regardless of its beneficial impact in limiting the chaos at our southern border.

Texas sued to stop the Biden Administration from ending MPP in April 2021, and the district court vacated the termination and mandated that DHS implement MPP in good faith. The New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court declined to stay the injunction pending appeal.

The Fifth Circuit later upheld the district court’s ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court then reversed, but remanded the case back to the district court to review another Biden Administration attempt to terminate the program. Now, the district court has blocked the Biden Administration from terminating MPP until the case is resolved on the underlying merits.

“Tens of thousands of illegal aliens are crossing our border every single week, overwhelming our communities and making our state and nation less safe,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Unfortunately, that’s a result of the Biden Administration’s unwavering determination to get as many illegal aliens into this country as possible. A key part of their open-borders agenda has been ending the Remain-in-Mexico program. But the law is not on their side. The court made the right decision here in protecting Remain-in-Mexico, and I look forward to fighting to make sure the program is secured indefinitely.”

To read the full court opinion, click here.