(AP Photo/Verónica G. Cárdenas)
(AP Photo/Verónica G. Cárdenas)
In response to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision to uphold a lower court’s injunction on the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program, WOLA’s Director for Mexico and Migrant Rights Maureen Meyer issued the following statement:
“The Ninth Circuit’s decision recognizes that ‘Remain in Mexico’ has been an unconscionable assault on asylum rights and due process. This policy forced some 59,000 people to wait for their asylum court dates in Mexican border cities where migrants are highly vulnerable to violent assaults, kidnappings, and other dangers.
“This ruling exposes the cruelty and the violation of human rights that form the very core of the Trump administration’s migration and asylum policies, of which ‘Remain in Mexico’ is just one part.
“Even with the pause that the Ninth Circuit ruling offers, the reality is that the Trump administration has proven it’s constantly looking for ways to deliberately foster conditions of fear and prolonged suffering for migrants and dramatically limit access to asylum at the border. In the months prior to the ruling, they were already winding down ‘Remain in Mexico,’ while ramping up programs designed to fast-track asylum claims with no meaningful access to legal counsel and sending asylum seekers to Guatemala to request protection there.
“Many elements of the Trump administration’s cruel approach to migration policy remain in operation. It’s critical that civil society, U.S. Members of Congress, and the international community continue to push back against the cruelty and illegality of the Trump administration’s efforts to systematically dismantle asylum.”
See WOLA’s other resources on “Remain in Mexico” here: