Asylum seekers stranded in Mexico under the Trump administration

President Trump’s administration, who led the White House from 2017 to early 2021, always had the firm intention of reducing immigration levels in the US, arguing that the massive flow of foreigners becomes an unnecessary burden on the federal government, saturates the healthcare system and reduces opportunities for American citizens.

Thus, during Donald Trump’s term, the local immigration system underwent a series of prominent changes that significantly transformed several existing processes and affected different communities, from people in need of international protection such as refugees and asylum seekers, to highly skilled workers and even local companies that benefit from foreign workforce.

Speaking specifically about humanitarian processes and to give a specific example of changes made by former President Trump on the immigration system, his administration implemented a policy called MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols) in 2019, also known as “Remain in Mexico”.

Broadly speaking, this policy banned asylum seekers from entering the US before receiving a response to their cases, so they had to remain in Mexico during their immigration processes. Naturally, because asylum seekers are people in need of international assistance to protect their integrity, they lived in Mexican territory in truly precarious situations, even in the midst of the global health crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Biden’s asylee resettlement plan

When the American population elected Joe Biden as president in November 2020, it definitely opened a door of hope for the most vulnerable immigrant communities as his administration promised to remove restrictive policies such as the MPP.

In fact, one of the Biden administration’s first actions was to suspend new enrollments in this program, and then unveiled an asylee resettlement project that benefits:

• Asylum seekers currently residing in Mexico under the MPP.
• Asylum seekers who still have active cases.

Biden’s resettlement plan does not allow to process new asylum applications or previously rejected applications. This is because we are still amid a global pandemic and the health risk is active.

The Biden administration has already received thousands of asylum seekers

According to official figures recently released by Border Report, approximately 4,000 asylum seekers have been able to enter the US since President Biden took office in late January 2021.

However, the report also reveals that there are still more than 26,000 asylum seekers waiting, who were enrolled in the MPP program and still remain in Mexican territory, whose cases have not been processed at authorized ports of entry.

This is the right time to start your immigration journey in the US

As we have been able to witness, the global Coronavirus pandemic and certain restrictions implemented by the previous administration substantially restricted immigration in the US, especially during 2020. However, now that regular processes are returning to normal, it is definitely the right time to seek reliable help and start your immigration journey as soon as possible.

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.