On Tuesday, the Supreme Court is set to revisit the Trump-era “Remain-in-Mexico” policy as the justices hear oral arguments in the Biden administration’s appeal of a lower court ruling that reinstated the program.
Biden suspended the policy shortly after taking office last year.
Trump’s administration adopted the policy, formally known as the “Migrant Protection Protocols,” in response to an increase in migration along the U.S.-Mexican border in 2018.
Newsmax reports:
The dispute centers on how much discretion the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, thinks Biden and his administration have to change course on immigration policy.
In its appeal to the justices, Biden’s administration said it is being “forced to reinstate and indefinitely continue a controversial policy” that exposes migrants to safety risks, harms relations with Mexico and is not the best tool for deterring illegal immigration.
The administration also said that the lower courts are unacceptably interfering with the historically broad authority that U.S. presidents have held over immigration and foreign affairs – a principle that the Supreme Court has long endorsed including in cases when Trump was president.
At issue in the case is the meaning of a provision of a 1996 U.S. immigration law that says U.S. officials “may return” certain immigrants to Mexican territory pending immigration proceedings. Biden’s administration said the provision is “unmistakably” discretionary and that the lower court’s decision means that every presidential administration “has been in open and systemic violation” of the law since it was created.
Roughly 68,000 people fell under the “remain in Mexico” policy from the time it took effect in 2019 until Biden suspended it in 2021.