WASHINGTON, DC – Reports indicate that the Remain in Mexico plan, also known as Migrant Protection Protocols, will soon be implemented in parts of California, New Mexico, and Texas. This plan forces asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico while their claims are reviewed. It is being implemented alongside ongoing large-scale illegal pushbacks at the border.
Charanya Krishnaswami, advocacy director for the Americas at Amnesty International USA, issued this statement:
“The Trump administration is not only abandoning people in their most desperate hour, it is actively putting them in harm’s way. Forcing people seeking protection in the United States to stay in Mexico while their claims are processed is irresponsible, cruel, and a stark violation of international law.
“By pushing people back to Mexico, the United States is putting asylum-seekers at risk of exploitation, sexual assault, murder, and even the possibility of being disappeared. If authorities expand this plan, people seeking protection will face the impossible choice of taking any risks necessary to seek safety or returning back home to danger.
“The administration must immediately stop playing with people’s lives and put an end to this heartless plan.”
For years, Amnesty International has documented the dangers faced by people seeking protection while traveling through Mexico. As recently as fall 2018, researchers observed Mexican immigration officials forcibly returning people seeking protection back to their home countries, in violation of international law.
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Lucy Scholey, Amnesty International Canada (English): + 613-744-7667 ext. 236; lscholey@amnesty.ca
