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On January 15, 2025, IRAP submitted a statement for the record to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs on “Remain in Mexico,” in advance of the January 16, 2025, hearing on the policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). In the statement, IRAP urges Congress to uphold the basic right to seek asylum and to reject the re-implementation of this unlawful border policy, originating during the first Trump administration.
In concert with partners, IRAP provided legal assistance to individuals seeking non-refoulment interviews or applying for asylum while enrolled in MPP, as well as assistance with motions to reopen their case to individuals ordered removed, especially in absentia, while enrolled in the program and unable to cross into the United States for their hearings due to various factors outside their control, including suffering kidnappings and other violence in Mexico.
Through these efforts, IRAP observed directly the egregious harm to asylum seekers and violations of basic legal protections that are intrinsic to the Remain in Mexico policy. At this moment of impending policy changes at the border, IRAP affirms the right to seek asylum, the right to family unity, and the importance of standing up to unlawful policies enacted against people seeking basic protection in the United States.
The statement for the record is available here.