Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied that her government has agreed to accept non-Mexican asylum seekers under the revived "Remain in Mexico" program announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would bring back the program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their often prolonged cases in the United States were resolved.
However, Sheinbaum said during a press conference on Tuesday that, even though she as committed to humanitarian principles, providing temporary assistance to those stranded at the border, the protocols proposed in MPP would require Mexico's explicit consent, which has not been given. Instead, Sheinbaum said she would focus on facilitating voluntary repatriation to immigrants' home countries.
"If someone is at the border, especially in these cold conditions, we will act in a humanitarian way," she said, adding, "but it's much better for them to return to their country of origin."
As to whether Mexico would pay for those deportation flights. Sheinbaum said her team would talk to the Trump administration about the matter, The New York Times reports.
The "Remain in Mexico" program, initially implemented in 2019 during Trump's first term, was widely criticized by human rights groups for exposing migrants to significant risks in Mexico, including violence and exploitation by organized crime. President Joe Biden terminated the program in 2021, citing its dangers.
"The United States has long stood as a beacon of hope, a land where the vulnerable can find refuge and rebuild their lives yet, the "Remain in Mexico" policy starkly contradicts this legacy of compassion and justice," explained George Carrillo, CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council (HCC) to The Latin Times. "Keeping asylum seekers, including children, to wait in dangerous conditions and unworthy of what our nation represents."
Carrillo is also a firm believer that the United States' immigration policy should lead with compassion:
"The fact that our immigration system has inefficiencies and backlogs should not absolve us of our duty to lead with compassion. Instead of pushing people farther from safety, we should be creating pathways that reflect America's ability to both protect its borders and remain a sanctuary for those in need"
Clinical psychologist Ida Salusky, who has two decades of experience working with asylum seekers and forced migrants in the U.S., explained to The Latin Times that "there is clear evidence oft he impact of 'Remain in Mexico' on the mental health of asylum seekers from the previous Trump and Biden administrations. In fact, Salusky explained that, by design, the "Remain in Mexico" policy creates conditions that harm the mental health of both children and families:
"Community violence targeting asylum seekers impacted by the Remain in Mexico policy has been widely reported. This can compound trauma that led people to flee their countries of origin in the first place. While exposure to this violence has psychological consequences for all, they are especially harmful for children"
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