US Supreme Court Allows Revival of Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Asylum Policy, Biden Admin Says Will Challenge Ruling

US Department of Homeland Security says it will ‘vigorously challenge’ the SC ruling but will comply with the order ‘in good faith’ as the appeals process continues

Visitors walk up the steps to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of the US Tuesday rejected President Joe Biden's bid to block a Texas-based judge's ruling that required the government to rescind an immigration policy implemented by Donald Trump. The immigration programme forces thousands of asylum seekers arriving at the southwestern border of the US to await approval in Mexico.

Trump's "remain in Mexico" policy is formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) programme.

Biden has since taking office in January sought to reverse many of Trump's immigration policies. After he rolled back the MPP programme earlier this year, Republican-led Texas and Missouri had challenged the move.

Biden's administration had moved the Supreme Court after US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that Trump’s policy would have to be reinstated. On August 19, the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's request for a delay, media reports said.

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 majority order Tuesday came with three justices dissenting. Three of the nine judges were appointed during Trump’s term.

The brief order means Kacsmaryk's August 13 ruling now goes into effect, Reuters reported.

The case, however, could return to the Supreme Court as an appeals court is set to hear it now.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said it regretted the court's decision and would "vigorously challenge" the ruling. 

It said the agency will comply with the order "in good faith" as the appeals process continues, and that discussions with Mexico have begun.

In its order, the court referenced its ruling in 2020 thwarting Trump's bid to end a programme introduced by former president Barack Obama. The programme protects from deportation the immigrants who entered the US illegally as children.

Omar Jadwat, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, which had challenged the Trump policy, said the Biden administration’s decision to rescind the MPP programme was right.

“The government must take all steps available to fully end this illegal program, including by reterminating it with a fuller explanation,” he said in a statement after the Supreme Court’s ruling.