Asylum seekers stranded by Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy celebrate court ruling: ‘We went through horrible, heavy things’

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it forced thousands of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their U. S. cases moved forward. The decision, dated Wednesday and unsealed Friday, found that the program, known as Remain in Mexico or the Migrant Protection Protocols, undercut applicants' ability to seek protection, consult lawyers and receive a fair hearing, and that attorneys were denied meaningful access to clients. The Independent reports that Trump launched the policy in 2019, Joe Biden moved to end it, and Trump has sought to bring it back since returning to office.

Human Rights First counted more than 70,000 people sent to Mexican border camps between January 2019 and January 2021, and documented hundreds of killings, rapes, tortures, kidnappings and assaults in the first two years. Only 7 percent found legal counsel, and about 1. 1 percent of those covered won asylum or similar relief, according to rights groups representing the plaintiffs.

Margaret Cargioli of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center called for guarantees that no future administration repeats the practice. The lead plaintiff said the ruling finally acknowledges that what the government did was illegal.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →