Washington, D.C.—Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) welcomes the confirmation yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it will end the use of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as “Remain in Mexico,” a policy which endangered the lives of thousands of families and children seeking safety in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the Biden Administration could dismantle the program, and in accordance with that ruling, the District Court lifted its injunction this week. Even as DHS winds down MPP, the states of Texas and Missouri have filed an amended complaint to again challenge the termination of this life-threatening policy. A statement from KIND President Wendy Young is below:
“KIND greatly appreciates Secretary Mayorkas’s steadfast commitment to ending MPP once and for all and restoring basic protections to those seeking safety in the United States. At the same time, we recognize the need to continue to work to ensure that asylum seekers have a fair chance to seek safety in the United States and that their lives are not further endangered in the process. Murder, disappearance, sexual violence, exploitation, abuse, and many other harms against asylum seekers and children have been documented as a result of MPP. Seeking safety in the United States should not endanger vulnerable people’s lives further. KIND urges the Administration to continue to hold the line on MPP and to guarantee access to asylum seekers and vulnerable children at U.S. borders and ports of entry.”
For more information: The Path Forward: Ensuring Humane and Orderly Processing at the U.S.-Mexico Border – KIND (supportkind.org)
###
Media Contact: Megan McKenna, mmckenna@supportkind.org, 202-631-9990