Reimplement Remain in Mexico and safe third country agreements on day one
What the document says“Reimplementation of the Remain in Mexico policy, safe third-country agreements”
The chapter says these and other measures addressing non-Mexican asylum applicants at the southern border must be day one priorities, describing them as key initiatives in effect at the end of the Trump Administration.
What the document actually says“Reimplementation of the Remain in Mexico policy, safe third-country agreements”
Bring back the rule that made people wait in Mexico. Bring back the deals with other countries too.
People who ask for asylum used to wait in Mexico. Their case was heard while they waited. That rule was dropped. The book says to bring it back on day one.
Securing Our Borders
2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8467
Section 6 of the order, signed January 20, 2025, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, to resume the Migrant Protection Protocols in all sectors along the southern border and to return aliens described in section 235(b)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the territory they came from. Section 8 directs the Secretary of State to pursue international agreements, naming section 208(a)(2)(A), the provision under which safe third country agreements are made. The fit breaks down in that resumption is ordered as soon as practicable rather than done on the day, the order concludes no safe third country agreement itself, and returning people to Mexico depends on Mexico accepting them, which the order does not address. None of the five candidates offered for this proposal touched the subject.
The order tells three cabinet heads to bring back the plan that sends asylum seekers back to Mexico while they wait. It also tells the State head to seek deals with safe third countries. But the plan is to resume as soon as workable, not on day one. No such deal is made here, and Mexico must agree to take people, which the order does not address.
3 agency rules
- Imposition and Collection of Civil Penalties for Certain Immigration-Related ViolationsHomeland Security Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Justice Department, Executive Office for Immigration Review · June 27, 2025
- Security Bars and Processing; Confirmation of Effective Date; Partial WithdrawalHomeland Security Department, Justice Department, Executive Office for Immigration Review · December 30, 2025
- Establishment of Four Customs-Enforcement AreasHomeland Security Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection · August 25, 2026
Each of these names the order above in its own summary, preamble or filing. That is a fact about the document, not a finding that it carries out this proposal: it is one step further away than the order is, and what it does about the proposal is a reading nobody has made here.