Call for an End to the Remain in Mexico Program

January 2020 marks one year since the government closed our doors to families seeking safety in the U.S., forcing them into unsafe conditions in Mexico while their cases proceed. This “Remain in Mexico” program has placed individuals seeking refuge into positions of extreme danger. Several of our partners on-the-ground in El Paso are assisting individuals subjected to the program – and see first-hand how this policy is separating and endangering families. Families like David’s.* David was separated from his pregnant wife at the border and sent back into Mexico despite expressing that he was afraid – afraid because he had been kidnapped by cartel members and extorted by the Mexican police.

Advocates used the sample tweets in this Twitterstorm toolkit to call for an end to the program.

The American Immigration Council’s Advocacy Manager, Katy Murdza, spoke at a rally to advocate for an end to the MPP program. She spoke about her recent trips to Laredo, Texas to observe MPP hearings, and how the program and makeshift courts set up on the border are harming asylum seekers and blocking access to a fair and just asylum process. Individuals returned to Mexico are forced to remove their shoelaces, making them easy targets upon their return. Advocates handed out shoelaces to represent this practice. We are calling on Congress to end the program and #RestoreAsylumNow.