The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLU) announced Monday that the Biden Administration had allowed the controversial Migrant Protection Protocol program (MPP), also known as “Remain in Mexico,” to be reimplemented in San Diego county. This followed a December 2021 federal court order requiring the Biden Administration to restart the program after ending it earlier in 2021.

The MPP requires that applicants for asylum on the southern US border wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are adjudicated. The Trump-era policy has received criticism for the risk it can carry for those seeking asylum, as the designated areas for waiting in Mexico often lack access to proper shelter, food, medical care and legal support. However, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in December that President Biden’s cancellation of the plan had been improper and ordered its reinstatement.

Calling the resumption of MPP “cruel and unjust,” the ACLU called on the Biden Administration to permanently re-terminate MPP and allow entrance to the US for asylum-seekers on the southern border. The statement indicated that 70,000 asylum-seekers have been made to wait in poor conditions in Mexico while their asylum cases are processed in the US.

Such re-termination appears unlikely at this time, as the Department of Homeland Security announced in December 2021 its intentions to comply with federal court orders to reinstate MPP across the southern border, and the San Diego expansion appears to be a natural continuation of those plans.