Catholic Lobby Denounces Reinstatement of Migrant Protection Protocols

For Immediate Release: December 2, 2021
Contact: Colleen Ross | cross@networklobby.org | 202-601-7877

Catholic Lobby Denounces Reinstatement of Migrant Protection Protocols
Ronnate Asirwatham: “We call on the Biden administration to end MPP and restore the ability to seek asylum at the border.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Biden administration announced a new agreement with the Mexican government to restart the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Under this policy, asylum seekers are required to wait outside the U.S., where they face violence and threats, while their claims are processed.

During the Trump administration, more than 60,000 asylum seekers were returned across the border to Mexico under MPP. In addition to re-starting MPP, the Biden administration continues using Title 42 to immediately expel migrants at the border without providing asylum seekers due process. 

Ronnate Asirwatham, NETWORK Government Relations Director, said: 

“We lift up the testimony of our partners at the border and the dignity of all immigrants and reiterate that meaningful access to counsel, justice, and due process under MPP is impossible. To even attempt it again makes a mockery of U.S. laws. We call on the Biden administration to end MPP and restore the ability to seek asylum at the border.” 

Mary J. Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said:  

“The use of the Migrant Protection Protocols forces vulnerable asylum seekers to live in unsafe conditions in Mexico while they wait for their cases to proceed in the United States. As President Biden tweeted before taking office, ‘Remain in Mexico is dangerous, inhumane, and goes against everything we stand for.’

“I join people of faith at the border and across the country calling on President Biden to recognize the human dignity of our siblings at the border and end this dangerous and inhumane policy as quickly as possible.” 

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NETWORK – advocates for justice inspired by Catholic sisters – educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation. They have a nearly 50-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good.