The bill, called “Make the Migrant Protection Protocols Mandatory Act,” would require migrants who cross the southern border without proper documentation to remain in Mexico until their case is heard.
“President Biden’s failed immigration policies have created a crisis at our southern border,” Blackburn said in a statement obtained by Fox News.
“Over half a million illegal aliens have poured across our southern border since Biden decided to repeal President Trump’s successful policy that forced migrants to remain in Mexico while seeking asylum,” she said. “My legislation will stop Biden’s decision to catch and release migrants into our communities and reinstate President Trump’s Remain in Mexico program.”
Blackburn’s bill would, in addition to restoring the MPP program, also tighten restrictions on asylum-seekers and mandate an end to the “catch and release” policy—a practice where illegal immigrants are released while they await their immigration court hearings.
The MPP program was created by the Trump administration in January 2019 to help stem the flow of meritless asylum claims that were clogging up the system by the hundreds of thousands.
The program, commonly referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases were adjudicated. Prior to its implementation, thousands of illegal immigrants were released into the United States to await their cases, most failing to appear in court, and with illegal aliens often disappearing into the country never to be seen again.
Blackburn is among a number of Republican lawmakers who have argued that Biden’s move to weaken or reverse Trump-era immigration policies prompted the current crisis at the southern border.
On May 11, 20 Republican governors called on Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to “take action” to deal with the crisis along the U.S.–Mexico border, as throngs of people from Mexico and Central America continue to try to illegally cross into the country.
