Remain in Mexico case in front of SCOTUS is also about whether Biden will be allowed to govern

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The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today around the Biden administration’s attempt to end the previous administration’s anti-asylum Remain in Mexico policy. While the president first ended the inhumane policy nearly a year ago, one “bizarre” ruling from a judge appointed by the insurrectionist president eventually led to its forced reimplementation. 

Whether the Biden administration can end this policy once and for all is now before the conservative court. This case matters, not only because real lives are at stake, but because justices will be deciding whether an incumbent president has the power to legitimately end a predecessor’s flawed policy.

RELATED STORY: Dozens of groups file brief opposing Remain in Mexico policy as Supreme Court arguments approach

A wide coalition of groups rallied in front of the Supreme Court building as oral arguments approached, including signatories from a recent legal brief supporting the administration’s attempt to end Remain in Mexico, which is officially known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). The policy forces asylum-seekers to wait in dangerous regions of Mexico for their U.S. immigration court dates.

Among the vulnerable people named in that legal brief were Roberto and his son Mario, who were targeted by cartels just days after being sent back to Mexico. While Mario managed to get away, he has no idea what happened to his dad. Internal government emails have since warned of “heavily armed members of criminal groups” operating “with impunity” in regions where already vulnerable asylum-seekers are sent to wait.

“Everyone has a legal and human right to seek asylum here, yet dehumanizing and deadly anti-Black policies like ‘Remain in Mexico’ and Title 42 have gutted our country’s asylum system and left thousands vulnerable to violent atrocities, including sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder,” said United We Dream Senior Advocacy Manager Juliana Macedo do Nascimento in a statement received by Daily Kos.

While she warned the court’s ruling “will have far-reaching implications on the future of asylum in the U.S,” the ruling could impact any policy decision the Biden administration lawfully chooses to undertake. The lower courts, including the appeals court that backed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling, have already made it no secret that they believe Democratic presidents have no right to govern. Just yesterday, a Louisiana judge issued a ruling against the Biden administration’s decision to end the anti-asylum Title 42 policy. That judge was also appointed by the insurrectionist president.

In a widely celebrated decision two years ago last summer, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the previous administration had unlawfully ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. But the case in front of the justices today is very different. “In the DACA case, everyone, even those suing the Trump admin, agreed that DHS could terminate DACA if it went through the right procedures,” American Immigration Council Senior Policy Counsel Aaron Reichlin-Melnick tweeted.

“In today’s case, a judge said the Biden admin can’t end MPP, even if it goes through the right procedures,” he continued. “That’s the key difference.” Like the video embedded above from the #SafeNotStranded campaign notes, Kacsmaryk’s ruling states that Remain in Mexico has to remain in place until the government has infrastructure to detain every single asylum-seeker.

“Biden v. Texas will not simply determine whether the Remain in Mexico program can end,” Vox reported. “It could also allow Trump’s judges to entrench one of Trump’s policies—even when the American people voted to reject Trump.” This case is about vulnerable children and families who have already suffered so much and are simply asking for safety here. But it’s also about whether a duly elected president will be allowed to govern.

RELATED STORIES: Supreme Court to decide whether one federal judge can sabotage Biden’s immigration agenda

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Biden admin again tries to end Remain in Mexico policy, citing ‘endemic flaws’ and ‘human costs’