Department of Homeland Security suspending new enrollments for Remain in Mexico program

A man holds a sign reading We have the right to live like you during a protest of migrants and human rights activists against US and Mexican migration policies at the San Ysidro crossing port, in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on the border with the US, on October 21, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. – With the implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), asylum seekers were forced to remain in Mexico while their migration cases were processed. But, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, US authorities suspended most asylum procedures leaving thousands of migrants stranded along the border. (Photo by Guillermo Arias / AFP) (Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)

by: Nathaniel Puente

Posted: Jan 21, 2021 / 03:15 PM AST

Updated: Jan 21, 2021 / 02:22 PM AST

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WASHINGTON (KVEO) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will no longer add individuals into the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program, they announced on Wednesday.

According to DHS, the MPP, also known as the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, will cease adding new individuals to the program beginning on Thursday.

However, a release from DHS states that those already enrolled in MPP are to remain where they are at this time and wait for government instruction.

COVID-19 Non-Essential-travel restrictions are still in effect at the border.

The release also states that President Biden’s executive orders on granting legal status to undocumented immigrants do not apply to people in the MPP program, as they are not in the United States.

The DHS enacted MPP in January 2019 under the Trump administration.

Under this policy, undocumented immigrants apprehended attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border were sent back to Mexico and left to remain there throughout the duration of their immigration court proceedings.