The Biden administration officially ended former President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy this week.
The policy, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, was implemented in 2019 and required asylum seekers to stay on the Mexican side of the U.S. border while awaiting immigration court proceedings.
The policy had been criticized by progressives and immigration advocates because it often forced migrants to wait for extended periods of time in substandard conditions, according to Axios, but Republicans like U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., suggested its reversal would encourage more migrants to come to the border.
“President Trump’s ‘remain in Mexico’ policy secured the border,” Jordan tweeted Wednesday. “Yesterday, the Biden Administration formally ended it. Are they intentionally trying to encourage illegal immigration?”
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also blasted President Biden over the move.
“Tough policies on illegal immigration work. That’s why we negotiated the remain in Mexico policy,” he tweeted. “Once again, the Biden Administration puts America last.”
Trump in a statement called the program a “historic foreign policy triumph but one of the most successful border security programs anyone has ever put into effect anywhere.” He claimed Biden had “inherited the most secure border in history, and they turned it into the greatest border disaster in history.”
Biden has had historic numbers of immigrants coming to the border but Trump also faced surges during his presidency, most notably in 2019.
