WASHINGTON, USA – The US Coast Guard announced immediate action on executive orders issued by the White House Tuesday; while DHS made the following announcement regarding the immediate restatement of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
US Coast Guard
“The US Coast Guard is the world’s premiere maritime law enforcement agency, vital to protecting America’s maritime borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard’s acting commandant.
“Per the President’s Executive Orders, I have directed my operational commanders to immediately surge assets —cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces — to increase Coast Guard presence and focus starting with the following key areas:
- The southeast US border approaching Florida to deter and prevent a maritime mass migration from Haiti and/or Cuba;
- The maritime border around Alaska, Hawai, the US territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands;
- The maritime border between The Bahamas and South Florida;
- The southwest maritime border between the US and Mexico in the Pacific;
- The maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America; and
- Support to Customs and Border Protection on maritime portions of the southwest US border.
Together, in coordination with our Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense teammates, we will detect, deter and interdict illegal migration, drug smuggling and other terrorist or hostile activity before it reaches our border.”
Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)
On January 25, 2019, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Kirstjen Nielsen issued Policy Guidance for Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (the MPP Policy).
The MPP Policy is an exercise of the authority granted to DHS pursuant to Section 235(b)(2)(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). That authority permits the Secretary of DHS to return certain applicants for admission to the adjoining country from which they are arriving pending the completion of removal proceedings pursuant to Section 240 of the INA.
Between January 20, 2021, and October 29, 2021, Acting secretary David Pekoske, and later secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, repeatedly attempted to suspend or terminate the MPP Policy.
Following a series of legal actions, secretary Mayorkas’s final attempt to terminate the MPP Policy was stayed by a federal court. See Order Granting Stay, Texas v. Biden, 2:21-cv-67 (N.D. Tex. Dec. 15, 2022). The Department of Justice, seven months after that stay was entered, voluntarily dismissed the federal government’s appeal, acquiescing to keeping the MPP Policy in effect for the foreseeable future. See Texas v. Biden, No. 23-10143 (5th Cir. Jul. 17, 2023).
According to representations made by the federal government in court, DHS at all times complied with that court order, but the facts on the ground “render[ed] restarting MPP impossible.” Defendants’ Supplemental Response Brief at 10, Texas v. Biden, 2:21-cv-67 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 6, 2023). The situation at the border has changed and the facts on the ground are favorable to resuming implementation of the 2019 MPP Policy.