The Mexican government said it opposes a possible resumption of the US immigration policy known as „Remain in Mexico”, which required asylum seekers in the United States to wait for hearings in Mexico, Reuters reported, Agerpres reads.

President Joe Biden tried to end the program, which was introduced by the Trump administration and is currently suspended. But US states such as Texas and Missouri filed a lawsuit to keep the program active, and in December a US judge suspended Biden’s move, saying the Department of Homeland Security had failed to adequately explain why the policy was ineffective and should be stopped.

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry did not explain the reasons for its opposition. Activists say the policy, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), leaves migrants in dangerous border towns where they face threats such as kidnapping and extortion.

While the Mexican government remains staunch in its opposition, U.S. officials should likely consider whether asylum seekers can remain in the United States while their claims are evaluated or whether to resort to other arrangements to get them out of the country.

About 74,000 migrants passed through Mexico under the program when former President Donald Trump was in power, the State Department said. Under Biden, that number is just 7,500.

Marsha Espinosa, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement to Reuters on Monday that the Biden administration would continue to try to end the MPP through the courts.

„Our ability to implement the MPP in accordance with the court order has always been conditioned on the willingness of the government of Mexico to accept returns under the MPP,” added Espinosa.

The Biden administration has sought alternatives to reduce the influx of migrants at the US southern border, including a program allowing some Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to enter through a scheduling system.

According to American officials, the program had some success in the context in which the number of migrants from those countries caught crossing the border dropped sharply from December to January. Human rights organizations insist that citizens of other countries be included.

Agerpres