WASHINGTON, DC – Last night the Supreme Court issued a ruling affirming a lower court decision that requires the Biden administration to reinstate the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forces people seeking asylum to await their court dates in Mexico. While litigation continues, faith leaders are urging the Biden administration to uphold its promises and do everything in its power to fight for a permanent end to the Remain in Mexico policy and create a just and humane asylum system.
“We are deeply disheartened and disturbed by the idea of MPP being reinstated as a result of this decision,” said Susan Gunn, Director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. “This policy has had disastrous humanitarian consequences over the past few years. Maryknoll missioners working at the U.S.-Mexico border have witnessed how this policy puts vulnerable people – including children – in grave danger. It has also contributed to the dismantling of the U.S. asylum system, which was created to guarantee the right of people fleeing violence and persecution to receive fair assessments of their political asylum claims. The Biden administration must find a way to revoke this policy immediately.”
“Franciscan Action Network (FAN) decries the decision of the Supreme Court to reinstate the MPP policy,” stated Sr. Marie Lucey, Associate Director of FAN. “This decision shows neither understanding of nor compassion for the impact on asylum seekers. Our partners on the border know firsthand how this policy is a humanitarian disaster. We urge the Biden administration to take whatever action it can to revoke the MPP policy.”
“A compassionate and fair immigration policy should be rooted in welcoming asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, and immigrants,” said Meredith Owen, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Church World Service. “The Supreme Court’s order puts lives in jeopardy and threatens the well-being of countless people who are at risk of unnecessary harm. Living out our moral leadership requires an immediate termination of all anti-asylum policies—not only the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy but also the immoral and unlawful ‘Title 42’ expulsions. We must envision and create a system that increases equity, particularly for Black asylum seekers and migrants, and upholds the dignity of all people.”
“Last night’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to disallow a stay against life-threatening ‘Remain in Mexico’ practices is deeply at odds with the call of the prophets to ‘deliver from the hand of the oppressor one who has been robbed, and do no wrong or violence to the resident alien’ (Jeremiah 22:3). It likewise is a stunning denial of decades-old humanitarian laws that have prioritized guiding star values of non-refoulement, humane protections, and safe and orderly processing for asylum seekers,” said Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director of Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries. “We continue to seek a return to our nation’s moral commitment to protect human lives of migrants, by ending policies such as MPP and Title 42 that have constantly compounded dangers and traumas already endured by migrants.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision perpetuates an unfair, unwise, and inhumane policy that puts the lives of asylum seekers – already among the most vulnerable – in even greater jeopardy,” stated Barbara Weinstein, Director of the Reform Jewish Movement’s Commission on Social Action. “It is well past time to end the Remain in Mexico policy and affirm that our nation’s asylum policies are rooted in humanitarian and just principles.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision is a harrowing one. We are deeply concerned about the consequences for migrant children and families along the southern border. Unequivocally, the Biden Administration must pursue all remedies to minimize the harmful impact of this decision, particularly by revoking the Remain in Mexico policy,” said Giovana Oaxaca, Program Director for Migration Policy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s AMMPARO program. “We believe we must continue to uphold and guarantee the basic human rights and safety of migrant children and their families.”
“A hostile immigration system—shaped by courts that cite factual errors to endorse and promote the suffering of vulnerable migrants who flee persecution and to set them up as easy prey for the Mexican drug cartels—is not just,” stated Elket Rodriguez, Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy and Missions Specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Fellowship Southwest. “And, like Pilate, washing your hands of the responsibility for their plight is a convenient precedent, even if it results in the deaths of innocents. Horrifically, that is the seal the Supreme Court will bear for this cruel decision to reinstate MPP.”
Rodriguez continued, “This legal process has little relevance when compared to the potential deaths, kidnappings and aggressions of migrant families that will result from this decision. We at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Fellowship Southwest will continue to shelter, nurture, guide, assist, show compassion to, and protect migrants who continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. Likewise, we will continue to support those who sacrificially serve migrants and meet their needs. We urge the Biden administration to continue their efforts to repeal MPP and to welcome those who flee persecution.”
“The Leadership Conference of Women Religious is deeply distressed by the Supreme Court ruling that will require the Biden administration to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and thereby endanger thousands of asylum seekers required to wait in Mexico while their claims are reviewed,” said Ann Scholz, SSND, Associate Director for Social Mission of the LCWR. “We are called by our faith to welcome the stranger and care for the vulnerable and we are challenged by our national values to offer protection to those fleeing violence and persecution. The court’s ruling is an attack on our faith and our national values, and it threatens the lives of those seeking safety in our land.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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