Source: Politics<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden\u2019s immigration agenda got a rare win Thursday \u2014 but the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on \u201cRemain in Mexico\u201d served as a reminder to many Democrats and advocates of just how many more immigration battles remain unresolved.<\/p>\n
The court\u2019s 5-4 decision notes the Biden administration has the discretion to end the program<\/a>. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying it welcomed the decision and would \u201ccontinue our efforts to terminate the program as soon as legally permissible.\u201d The White House did not comment on the ruling.<\/p>\n Immigrant advocates and some Democratic lawmakers applauded the decision, which arrived amid continued challenges for the Biden administration, such as ongoing legal battles brought on by GOP-led states and a lack of appetite for immigration reform on Capitol Hill. And many are waiting for Biden to further deliver on his promises to reverse restrictive border policies imposed by his predecessor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe certainly would hope and expect that the administration does move swiftly to end that program and to make sure asylum-seekers who have been trapped in these very dangerous circumstances quickly have an avenue to be admitted to the U.S. to have their cases processed,\u201d said Sergio Gonzales, executive director of the Immigration Hub and former senior policy adviser to then-Sen. Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n The court\u2019s ruling Thursday leaves the door open for Republican-governed states to again challenge the termination of the program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, under different grounds in lower courts.<\/p>\n Still, immigrant advocates and Democratic leaders called for Biden to quickly and completely end the program, which forces asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico as their cases proceed in U.S. immigration courts.<\/p>\n They also cautioned the Biden administration against letting the ruling distract it from taking steps to end other Trump-era border policies, particularly the public health directive known as Title 42. A federal judge last month blocked the White House from lifting the restriction<\/a>, which the Trump administration imposed at the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n The Justice Department has appealed the Title 42 decision, but immigration lawyers say Biden officials could be doing more, namely starting a public comment process, to address the substance of the judge\u2019s order. The judge found that the administration failed to comply with the law because it failed to post a Federal Register notice that requested comments about its plans to end the use of Title 42.<\/p>\n In its statement Thursday on the MPP ruling, DHS specifically noted it \u201ccontinues to enforce our immigration laws at the border and administer consequences for those who enter unlawfully, and will continue the court-mandated enforcement of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s Title 42 public health order.\u201d<\/p>\n In the leadup to Thursday\u2019s decision, Biden administration officials have largely avoided the \u201cRemain in Mexico\u201d case and not made mention of how they would respond to a ruling, despite a late June decision being widely anticipated, according to several Hill aides and immigrant advocates in touch with the White House.<\/p>\n Biden officials made no mention of the coming MPP ruling in a weekly call with Hill immigration staffers on June 24 or in the weeks prior, according to a Senate Democratic aide. Another Democratic aide said administration officials have generally avoided talking about immigration, particularly after Democrats on the Hill split over the administration\u2019s previous attempts to lift Title 42.<\/p>\n Ahead of the MPP ruling, one senior administration official said plans for responding to it were the responsibility of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an area where DHS is following the rulings of the court and for the rest of us, we\u2019re waiting to see how the legal process plays out as we are continuing to cooperate very closely with the Mexicans on migration issues writ large,\u201d the senior official said.<\/p>\n