Remain in Mexico

Administered by the Department of Homeland Security, it requires migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico until their US immigration court date.

[7] On November 9, 2018, then-U.S. president Donald Trump issued a proclamation suspending the right of asylum to any migrant crossing the US–Mexico border outside of a lawful port of entry.

It was subsequently implemented in Calexico-Mexicali, El Paso-Ciudad Juarez, Brownsville-Matamoros, Laredo-Nuevo Laredo, Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras, and Nogales-Nogales.

[15] Human Rights First found that at least 636 of those returned were victims of violent crimes in Mexico, including kidnapping, rape, torture, and assault.

[23] In February 2021, the administration of President Joe Biden ended the "Remain in Mexico" policy, resuming admission of new asylum seekers and the approximately 25,000 with pending cases to the United States, and asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal as moot.

[24][25] On August 14, 2021, a federal judge in Texas ordered a resumption of the Trump-era border policy that required migrants to remain in Mexico until their US immigration court date.

[35] This resulted in thousands of people staying in Mexico for weeks or months after the program was officially ended, and many missed their court dates due to travel difficulties.

One advocate called this delay "a little cruel", and the government was criticized for accepting over 21,000 refugees from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine at the Mexican border during the same timeframe without this restriction.