Biden Administration Tries Again to End Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy

The Biden administration is making another attempt to end a Trump-era immigration program that a court ordered be reinstated, offering a more detailed description about the “benefits and cost” of forcing some asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are pending.

“I have concluded that there are inherent problems with the program that no amount of resources can sufficiently fix,” Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, wrote in the new justification for ending the program, released on Friday.

Ursela Ojeda, the senior policy adviser for the Women’s Refugee Commission’s migrant rights and justice program, said the new memo was a welcome step, but she had hoped Mr. Mayorkas would have issued it sooner.

“It’s really worrisome that we are 10 months into this administration, and there are still several Trump administration policies — not just M.P.P. — that are still being implemented at the border,” she said, in particular the continuation of the public health rule, which the administration is fighting in court to keep in place. “Instead, we see a doubling down on policies of deterrence and policies that really aren’t compatible with the right to seek asylum in this country.”