Featured Issue: Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)

Two years after the Migrant Protection Protocols first began, new enrollments into this border processing program officially ended on January 20, 2021. Over this period, thousands of individuals arriving at the U.S. southern border seeking protection were forced to remain in Mexico pending their U.S. immigration court hearings.

MPP or "Remain in Mexico" dramatically altered the processing of asylum claims at the U.S. southern border and made it far more difficult for asylum seekers to receive a fair and meaningful review of their claims. In September 2019, DHS opened massive temporary tent facilities in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas, that functioned as virtual immigration courtrooms for vulnerable asylum seekers subject to MPP. AILA covered the numerous due process and access to counsel violations while these “tent courts” operated in Eyes on the Border but Shut out of the Tent Courts.

On March 23, 2020 – in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – DHS and EOIR suspended all MPP hearings. The implementation of the suspension was chaotic and confusing, leading some people to travel to ports of entry only to be turned away and others to miss the opportunity to get their notices of rescheduled hearings.

Finally, on February 11, 2021, DHS announced the beginning of the process to unwind MPP. In this initial phase, eligible individuals in Mexico are required to register online or by phone with the UNHCR and complete COVID-19 testing before they are permitted to present themselves at a port of entry. This process has no official end date and is expected to go on for some time. Many questions remain about the future for individuals formerly in MPP but who are not eligible for this initial phase of processing.

Resources on MPP Processing and Former MPP Individuals

• Justice Campaign Advisory: Employment Authorization for People Formerly in MPP - April 2, 2021
• AILA and Partners Send Letter Recommending Additional Actions on the Wind Down of MPP – March 12, 2021
• Practice Advisory: Information for Attorneys Representing Clients Currently in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – March 3, 2021
• UNHCR MPP registration page (“Conecta”)
• DHS Releases FAQs on MPP Processing – February 20, 2021
• HIAS PowerPoint: MPP Know Your Rights (Spanish)
• HIAS PowerPoint: MPP Know Your Rights (English)
• HIAS PowerPoint: MPP Know Your Rights (Portuguese)

Government Announcements and Policies

• DHS to Begin Processing Individuals in Mexico with Active MPP Cases – February 11, 2021
• DHS Suspends New Enrollments in the MPP Program – January 20, 2021
• White House Issues Executive Order on the Southern Border and the Asylum System (86 FR 8267, 2/5/21)
• BIA Rules IJ Should Enter In Absentia Order of Removal if Individual Returned to Mexico Under MPP Fails to Appear for Hearing (Matter of J.J. Rodriguez, 27 I&N Dec. 762 (BIA 2020))
• Memo from CBP, ICE, and USCIS to Acting Secretary of DHS - Response to the Migration Protection Protocols Red Team Report - January 14, 2020
• Local EOIR Liaison Meeting Minutes with ACIJ Clay Martin - September 19, 2019
• EOIR Provides AILA with Information on New Port Courts - September 11, 2019
• DHS Releases Assessment of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – October 28, 2019
• USCIS Releases Guidance for Implementing Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the INA and the Migrant Protection Protocols - January 28, 2019
• CBP Releases Its Guiding Principles for Migrant Protection Protocols - January 28, 2019
• CBP Releases Guidance on Migrant Protection Protocols - January 28, 2019
• DHS Releases Policy Guidance for Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols - January 25, 2019

Information on Former MPP Hearings and Tent Courts

• Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security Announce Plan to Restart MPP Hearings – July 17, 2020
• Trump Administration’s Continued Disdain for U.S. Asylum Law and Lack of Concern for Vulnerable Asylum Seekers on Display at Border - May 11, 2020
• DHS Responds to Human Rights First’s Concerns About COVID-19 and MPP Hearings - April 29, 2020
• Letter to DHS Requesting MPP Be Stopped Immediately in Accordance with U.S. Law – March 6, 2020
• Policy Brief: Questions Remain After AILA Joins Laredo Tent Court Tour – January 30, 2020
• Washington Post: In scathing manifesto, an asylum officer blasts Trump’s cruelty to migrants - November 11, 2019
• AILA Policy Brief: Effective Border Management Begins with Improving the U.S. Asylum System – June 13, 2019
• AILA Sends Letter to DHS Acting Secretary Detailing MPP’s Barriers to Counsel - June 3, 2019
• AILA Policy Brief: DHS and DOJ Are Opening Secretive Port Courts Along the Southern Border – September 6, 2019
• AILA Policy Brief: "Remain in Mexico" Plan Sows Chaos, Puts Asylum Seekers at Risk - February 1, 2019

Litigation

• Council and Partners File Complaint to Compel Release of FOIA Records and Data Regarding MPP – May 13, 2020
• Family of Asylum Seekers Separated by Migrant Protection Protocols Files Lawsuit Seeking Reunification (Constanza Lemus, et al. v. Wolf, et al., 1/3/20)
• AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) Proceedings – December 3, 2019
• District Court States Plaintiffs Cannot Be Sent Back to Mexico (Doe v. McAleenan, 11/12/19)
• Resources Related to Innovation Law Lab v. Nielsen Lawsuit Challenging the Trump Administration's Remain in Mexico Policy (Innovation Law Lab v. Wolf, 2/14/19)

Select Congressional Oversight Efforts

• Senators Raise Concerns That DHS-Operated "Tent Courts" Violate Asylum Seekers' Due Process Rights – March 3, 2020
• Rep. Chuy García (D-IL): The Faces of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy - January 25, 2020
• House Judiciary Committee Announced Investigation into Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” Policy – January 14, 2020
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leads Member Delegation to Investigate the Impacts of President Trump’s Remain in Mexico Policy – January 10, 2020
• House Democrats Demand Information from DOJ and DHS on its Use of Tent Courts - November 25, 2019
• U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Humanitarian Aspects of the United States Migratory Crisis – November 22, 2019
• Senator Merkley’s Report: Shattered Refuge, A U.S. Senate Investigation into the Trump Administration’s Gutting of Asylum – November 14, 2019
• U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security hearing: Examining the Human Rights and Legal Implications of DHS’ ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy. AILA’s Hearing Statement - November 19, 2019
• Members of Congress Call for Investigation of Tent Courthouses - October 17, 2019
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Announces Oversight Visit to Laredo Tent Courts - October 4, 2019

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 19091660.