Biden administration petitions Supreme Court to hear case on 'Remain in Mexico' policy

The Biden administration petitioned the Supreme Court on Wednesday to review its case aimed at ending the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy, The Hill reported.

The program — formally called the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) – prevents individuals seeking asylum from entering the U.S. while their claims are reviewed by immigration courts.

Although Biden campaigned against the policy in the run-up to the 2020 election, his administration has hit legal opposition while trying to dismantle the legislation.

Soon after assuming office, Biden attempted to end MPP, but Texas and Missouri challenged him in court, calling the policy a “common sense” approach to asylum law.

Earlier this month, three judges for the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the White House's appeal to allow an end to the MPP and upheld a lower court’s determination that the termination of the policy by Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was legally unjustifiable.

The Court’s decision was written by Trump-appointed Judge Andrew Oldham, who stated that the Biden administration’s approach to the policy was "as unlawful as it is illogical."

In its petition to the Supreme Court, however, the Justice Department argued that the Supreme Court should review this case as previous decisions were made on "erroneous interpretations" of federal laws — namely the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Justice Department further argued that if the 5th Circuit’s decision was upheld then all other past administrations were in violation of federal law since 1997.

It also bashed the lower court’s decision that stated Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s decision to terminate MPP had no legal effect, arguing that Mayorkas had done "exactly" what he was supposed to do and the 5th Circuit's decision "ignored bedrock principles of administrative law."

"In short, the lower courts have commanded DHS to implement and enforce the short-lived and controversial MPP program in perpetuity. And they have done so despite determinations by the politically accountable Executive Branch that MPP is not the best tool for deterring unlawful migration; that MPP exposes migrants to unacceptable risks; and that MPP detracts from the Executive’s foreign-relations efforts to manage regional migration," the petition stated.