DHS Secretary Mayorkas Ends ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program with Plans to Free More Migrants into U.S.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO - MARCH 16: Asylum seekers leave Mexico while walking into the Unite
John Moore/Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas officially ended the “Remain in Mexico” program, which sought to cut asylum fraud by preventing the release of migrants into the United States.

Immediately after taking office, Biden suspended the Remain in Mexico program, nearly two years after it was implemented by the Trump administration to reduce asylum fraud. Days later, Biden instructed top DHS officials to strategize a plan that would release at least 25,600 migrants enrolled in the program into the U.S. interior.

On Tuesday, Mayorkas announced the official end of Remain in Mexico, despite its highly effective rate of preventing asylum fraud, where migrants are released into the U.S. interior, are eventually found to be ineligible for asylum, and then remain living in the country as illegal aliens.

As part of the announcement, Mayorkas said from February 19 to May 25, DHS had released about 11,200 migrants enrolled in the program into the U.S. interior. More migrants, Mayorkas said, will be released into the interior.

“The Department is continuing to work with interagency partners to carry out this phased effort and to consider expansion to additional populations enrolled in [Remain in Mexico,” Mayorkas writes in the memo:

Having now completed the further review undertaken pursuant to Executive Order 14010 to determine whether to terminate or modify [Remain in Mexico], and for the reasons outlined below, I am by this memorandum terminating the [Remain in Mexico] program. I direct DHS personnel to take all appropriate actions to terminate [Remain in Mexico], including taking all steps necessary to rescind implementing guidance and other directives or policy guidance issued to implement the program. [Emphasis added]

Read the full memo here:

Termination of Remain in Me… by John Binder

To date, of the more than 71,000 Remain in Mexico asylum cases, less than one percent have been found to have a legitimate asylum claim to stay in the U.S. More than 45 percent of migrants enrolled in Remain in Mexico were issued a deportation order and about 41 percent are still awaiting an outcome in their case.

The Biden administration has been incredibly efficient in facilitating illegal immigration into the U.S. interior by putting border crossers up in migrant hotels along the southern border before flying them into the country via commercial domestic flights.

At the current pace, analysis projects about 1.2 million illegal aliens are expected to be encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of the year. This does not include the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who successfully cross into the U.S., undetected.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here

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