Biden Administration Could Reopen More than 34,000 Asylum Cases Along the US-Mexico Border

But if our recent findings are correct, MPP has already had its effect and most migrants will never get a chance to have their cases heard before a judge.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced today that it would begin reopening many of the cases of migrants whose asylum cases were rejected under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). MPP was a Trump-era program that forced asylum seekers to remain in dangerous parts of northern Mexico rather than processing their asylum cases in the United States.

We at TRAC have been tracking MPP data since the beginning of the program, and our data show that this change could benefit up to 34,528 migrants.

TRAC’s total combines two categories announced by the Biden administration. Cases that will be reopened include two categories: (1) cases where the applicant’s case was terminated, and (2) cases where the applicant received a deportation order without being in court (also known as an ‘in absentia’ order).

TRAC’s data, which is current through the end of May 2021, show that 6,686 migrants had their cases terminated under MPP and 27,842 migrants received deportation orders in absentia. MPP data can be viewed on TRAC’s website here.