The Ninth Circuit’s decision, another reckless nationwide injunction threatening our constitutional structure, obstructs the Executive Branch from faithfully executing the immigration laws passed by Congress and from protecting American citizens and legal immigrants. The Immigration and Nationality Act, in 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2) provides that, when an alien is arriving “from a foreign territory contiguous to the United States” and is found by the Department of Homeland Security not to be “clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted,” the Department “may return the alien to” the contiguous territory of arrival pending a removal proceeding. Using the express authority that Congress provided to the Secretary of Homeland Security in this statute, the Administration implemented the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), to return over 60,000 aliens to Mexico in the past 13 months, while preserving the ability for those aliens who wish to seek asylum in the United States to pursue their claims in front of an Immigration Judge. By any measure, MPP has been hugely successful, including by reducing burdens on United States communities and easing the humanitarian crisis on the Southern border. If today’s ruling is allowed to stand, these successes will be reversed, which threatens to flood the Nation’s immigration system, present unchecked coronavirus entry risk, deeply damage our positive relationship with the Government of Mexico and other regional partners, and reignite the humanitarian and security crisis at the border. We remain committed to using every lawful means necessary to secure the border, and we are considering all available legal options to seek further review of this decision. In the meantime, all lawful efforts will be undertaken to prevent the illegal entry of any foreign nationals.
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