INDIANAPOLIS — This week, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the Biden administration was out of line when the “Remain in Mexico Policy” was halted upon President Biden taking office.
In a 6-3 vote, the high court denied a stay of an order to reinstate the policy, which was suspended by DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas back in June.
A Texas federal judge ruled on Aug. 13 that President Biden had likely violated state law when he signed an executive order that suspended the policy, which states that asylum seekers must remain in their home countries or Mexico while their status to be granted asylum is looked over.
“You’re not going to be here in our community while you wait one, two, or three more years while we figure out your status, you’re going to do it back home,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita of the policy.
“During the last eight months of the Trump administration border crossings were down, and down significantly,” Rokita added on the Hammer and Nigel Show on WIBC.
Rokita, a former congressman from Indiana before becoming attorney general, had filed a lawsuit in conjunction with a lawsuit by both Texas and Missouri who claimed that the overturning of the policy violated state law.
Rokita’s lawsuit claims that non-border states were also adversely affected by President Biden’s executive order ending the policy.
“We’re having problems too,” said Rokita. “Not enforcing the Remain in Mexico statute has had a lot of problems, you just don’t have to be a border state to have the problems.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that while the administration opposes the policy, it was “compelled to — by law — to now proceed with means by which we abide by the ruling.”
In July after the policy was suspended, U.S. agents along the Mexican border made over 212,000 migrant apprehensions, which Rokita said is the highest number of apprehensions in one month since 2000.
