The Wednesday deadline for the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program was met. The court ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s policy, also known as Remain in Mexico.

The program has been successful in containing the flow of asylum-seekers flooding the southern border. In order to ease the burden which overwhelms the Border Patrol and immigration judges, the Trump administration struck an agreement with Mexico. MPP was put in place to deal with the thousands of migrants traveling through Central America to the U.S.-Mexican border in caravans and on foot in large groups. The Mexican president has been a real partner with President Trump in dealing with the crisis at the border. Migrants are sent back over the Mexican border to wait for their day in court instead of being released in the United States to move about freely until their court date. No more catch and release, as it is called.

Liberal activists objected to bringing the southern border under control and proceeded to use the court system to stop it. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the program is illegal. As expected, asylum-seekers began to rush the southern border and measures were taken, like closing the Paso Del Norte international bridge in El Paso. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals placed a temporary stay on its own ruling and gave the Supreme Court the deadline. The Department of Defense sent additional troops to the border to handle any chaos that might happen if the Supreme Court agreed with the Ninth Circuit Court. The Ninth Circuit only has jurisdiction over the border with California and Arizona.

So, here we are. The Supreme Court ruling doesn’t end the other legal challenges to the program in the courts. The decision to overturn the Ninth Circuit ruling was almost unanimous. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the only dissenting vote. The MPP program can end up in the Supreme Court again to determine if it violates federal statutes.

The Justice Department expressed its gratitude for the Supreme Court ruling.

“The Migrant Protection Protocols, implemented pursuant to express authority granted by Congress decades ago, have been critical to restoring the government’s ability to manage the Southwest border and to work cooperatively with the Mexican government to address illegal immigration,” the department’s statement said.

The ACLU isn’t so happy. The open-borders crowd prefers that liberal judges make immigration policy, not the administration.

After the ruling, ACLU lawyer Judy Rabinovitz said in a statement: “The Court of Appeals unequivocally declared this policy to be illegal. The Supreme Court should as well. Asylum seekers face grave danger and irreversible harm every day this depraved policy remains in effect.”

BREAKING: The Supreme Court has allowed Trump's forced Return to Mexico policy to remain in effect while our case proceeds.
 
The Court of Appeals declared it illegal and SCOTUS should as well.

Asylum seekers face grave danger and irreversible harm every day from this policy.

— ACLU (@ACLU) March 11, 2020

Senator Ted Cruz pointed out that the ruling was the right decision to make. It will also help as the Trump administration works to contain the threat of the COVID-19 virus spreading in the United States.

Important SCOTUS victory for securing the border. The “remain in Mexico” policy agreement w/ Mexican govt has had a major impact reducing illegal border crossings—especially critical as we work to contain spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/okjOECCM53

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 11, 2020

The program is working. The mutual agreement promotes a good relationship with Mexico, which is crucial for southern border states. The U.S. and Mexico are intertwined – especially as trading partners. Last fiscal year, more than 470,000 migrants — including parents and children — crossed into the United States illegally. The massive immigration court backlog that resulted from the illegal activity is unsustainable. In the thirteen months that MPP has been in place, nearly 60,000 migrants have been sent back to Mexico to await asylum hearings.