FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 12, 2021
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, & Operations, released the following statement on news the Biden Administration will soon start to undo the Trump Administration’s abhorrent ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, which forced migrants to wait in dangerous conditions indefinitely before being allowed to come to the U.S.:
“The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy was a reprehensible step backwards for our country and an abandonment of our longstanding—and bipartisan—tradition of protecting asylum seekers and refugees. Despite our Republican colleagues’ efforts to misrepresent U.S. law, it is important to remember that it is legal to come to the U.S. border and seek asylum.
“We are encouraged to see the Biden Administration moving in the right direction to address the humanitarian disaster at the border that former President Trump created. We still have questions on how the Administration plans to implement these changes and expect to continue engaging with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure this process is orderly and effective – and most importantly results in a just and humane asylum processing system.”
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