Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – On Friday, more than 240 promigrant groups urged President Joe Biden not to implement two US border policies. These policies were designed to block asylum seekers from the United States.

Biden is a Democrat and he came to office promising to reverse the legacy of Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. But advocates – including many of those who supported him candidacy – have become frustrated by the slow pace at which reform has been moving.

Biden and top officials were addressed a note by the group calling the policies “illegal”.

Biden attempted to repeal one of these policies (the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP), but a federal judge ordered its reinstatement after a lawsuit. Advocates criticized the government for expanding MPP to include all Western Hemisphere migrants when the program was reopened in December.

Non-Mexican asylum seeker can be detained at the U.S. border with Mexico and sent to Mexico under the MPP program. They could face kidnapping and other serious harms in border communities.

The administration claimed that it will add humanitarian protections to MPP by restarting the program. This includes access to COVID-19 vaccinations, health screenings, lawyers, and new human rights. Human Rights First released a Thursday report that stated these promises were not fulfilled.

It interviewed 16 returning migrants, and most of them claimed that they weren’t informed about their rights to consult a lawyer in custody. The U.S. authorities had failed to properly screen migrants for potential health risks that could allow them to stay in the United States.

The White House spokeswoman said that the administration had to follow the court’s order for a restart in good faith, but still opposed the policy.

The International Organization for Migration reported that 161 migrants have been returned to Mexico as of Thursday (the MPP restart). All of the return took place at Ciudad Juarez which is across El Paso (Texas) border.

Title 42 is the Trump’s other policy, which was criticized and left by Biden. The Title 42 policy allows U.S. authorities the ability to expel quickly migrants captured at U.S. borders during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and not give them any chance of seeking asylum.

The White House has asked questions regarding policy to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which applied it in March 2020.