US Supreme Court halts resumption of “Wait in Mexico” program for asylum seekers.

LOS ANGELES - US Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito temporarily suspended a lower court decision on Friday that required the resumption of the "Wait in Mexico" policy, which forced asylum seekers to wait in the neighboring country for their court hearings.

The order signed by Justice Alito gave the administration of President Joe Biden time to stop a ruling by a lower federal court, which ordered the reactivation of the rule , in response to a lawsuit filed by the states of Texas and Missouri.

The "Wait in Mexico" policy, whose official name is the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) was established by the government of now former President Donald Trump in 2019 , and through it tens of thousands of migrants who arrived at the southern border have been returned to the neighboring country.

Staying in Mexico" forces asylum seekers to wait for resolution of their cases outside the US.

Instead of waiting for the immigration hearing required by law on US soil, this policy forces asylum seekers to wait outside the US for the adjudication process of their applications.

On the same day of his presidential inauguration, Biden canceled MPP but last week federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, appointed by Trump, ordered the federal government to, as of this Saturday, resume the application of the "Wait in Mexico" rule .

The Biden administration appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals to suspend Kacsmaryk's order, claiming that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has no resources to resume MPP , but appeals judges sided with the states. plaintiffs.

States of Texas and Missouri must respond to the request of the Biden Administration

Judge Alito has asked the states of Texas and Missouri to respond to a request from the Biden Administration before 5:00 p.m. next Tuesday.

The White House suffered another blow with respect to its immigration policy this week, after Federal Judge Drew Tipton, also appointed by Trump, declared void the priorities established by the Biden Administration for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) detain undocumented migrants for deportation.

Congress had directed ICE to prioritize the detention of undocumented immigrants, and a memorandum from the Biden Administration on February 18 stipulated that priority be given to detaining individuals who have committed serious crimes or who pose a threat to public safety. and national.

Tipton with his ruling overturned these priorities, siding with the states of Texas and Louisiana that had demanded the order.