Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced legislation to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the "Remain in Mexico" program under former President Donald Trump.
Blackburn said the policy needs to be put into law to protect the border and the nation as Title 42 is set to expire this week.
"In his first week of office, President [Joe] Biden began rolling back the successful Remain in Mexico program, inviting millions of illegal immigrants to flood our southern border," Blackburn said in a press release Wednesday.
"As the Biden administration allows Title 42 to lapse, there must be an effective plan to avoid exacerbating the border crisis. Reinstating the practice of returning migrants to Mexico and putting an end to the zero-accountability practice of catch and release is essential for our nation's sovereignty and security."
Blackburn's legislation, the Make the Migrant Protection Protocols Mandatory Act, will require that illegal immigrants who are seeking asylum at the southern border or do not have proper documentation, remain in Mexico to await immigration proceedings, rather than be allowed to come into the United States.
Blackburn's co-sponsors on the bill are Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, is leading House companion legislation.
"The Remain in Mexico policy worked and should be reinstated," Lummis said. "The crisis at our southwest border is impacting every state, including Wyoming, and will only worsen this week when Title 42 is lifted. With illegal border crossings reaching record highs, we need solutions to stop the flow of illegal immigration at the border."
Lummis added that the "common-sense legislation" will end the current catch-and-release policy, and is an "important first step in getting the crisis at the border under control."
Braun added that since Biden's first day in office, the U.S.-Mexico border has turned into an "absolute catastrophe with human trafficking numbers reaching places our country has never seen. … With Title 42 ending, our country needs policies like this now more than ever."
Daines noted that Montana is a "northern border state with a southern border crisis" and that its communities are feeling the effect of "Biden's wide-open southern border. We must put an end to dangerous loopholes that put Montana families at risk."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) instituted the Migrant Protection Protocols in January 2019 to end the catch-and-release policies. At that time, Mexico agreed to provide humanitarian aid for migrants remaining in their country under the U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration and Supplementary Agreement.
The program was suspended on Biden's second day in office, and since he became president, there have been approximately 5.7 million encounters at the southern border, Blackburn's office noted.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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