In January 2019, the Migration Protection Protocol also known as MPP started to operate on the border between Mexico and the United States of America. Under the MPP program, individuals arriving in the United States of America are given an immigration court date. However, while waiting for that court date they have to remain in Mexico. Nevertheless, as the year 2020 began, the COVID-19 started to spread through the whole world paralyzing several sectors, and the MPP courts were not the exception.
During the governance period of the former president Donald Trump, in the middle of March 2020, it was announced that the MPP courts would be suspended temporarily and then indefinitely causing that migrants were requested to wait between 8 months to even a year in Mexico. Waiting in Mexico has been very risky for some migrants, as some are temporarily living in the most dangerous cities of the country. Even more, they are being possible victims of extorsions, kidnappings, or robbery.
New Migration Policies Under President Biden
Near the end of 2020, as the USA’s presidential election was approaching, it was known that one of the main different approaches between Joe Biden and Donald Trump about migration would be at the MPP processes. This is the reason why after Joe Biden being elected, one of his first executive orders was a major review about the asylum processes in the United States of America, this included an evaluation of MPP.
After careful consideration, by the end of February 2021, the first group of migrants that for several months were waiting in Mexico started to arrive in the United States of America. This process started in the Mexican city of Tijuana in which a group of 25 migrants was able to cross and to continue waiting for the process in the United States of America. By the end of February and during the first weeks of March, some other groups from Matamoros and Ciudad Juarez will start the same mobility process. For this matter, It is important to stay informed as the migration processes of the United States of America are constantly changing with the new government period and to verify reliable sources to avoid scams or hoaxes.
Alejandra Camacho Vega holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the Instituto Tecnológico y de EstudiosSuperiores de Monterrey (TEC), and a Technical Diploma in Political Communication from the University of Cádiz (UCA).She is passionate about art, humanitarian assistance, international development, and is able to communicate professionally in Spanish, English, French, and Italian. Twitter: @_alecamachov