DOJ asks Supreme Court for last minute stay over Trump's "Remain in Mexico" program
20 August 2021
The Department of Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to suspend a lower court's order that would force the administration to reinstate one of President Trump's border policies, which left tens of thousands of migrants to await asylum hearings in Mexico.
Why it matters: Ending the controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy was one of President Biden’s campaign promises, and he suspended the program on his first day in office. The administration has now brought thousands of impacted migrants into the United States — some of whom waited years in Mexico.
- Now, unless the Supreme Court intervenes, federal courts may force the administration to reinstate the policy on Saturday — or at least make a good faith effort.
- The Texas federal judge’s ruling from earlier this month “requires the government to abruptly reinstate a broad and controversial immigration enforcement program that has been formally suspended for seven months and largely dormant for nearly nine months before that,” states the government's Friday evening court filing.
- Mexico is already taking in tens of thousands of migrants each month returned under another Trump-era policy linked to the coronavirus, called Title 42, which the Biden administration kept in place.
- A Mexican official told Reuters that it was not feasible for the country to take in more migrants.
Between the lines: Immigration advocates and Democrats often criticized the "Remain in Mexico" program. Migrants were often forced to live in dangerous conditions.
- This comes as border numbers continue to rise, with July seeing a new record for unaccompanied minors attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The administration also faces a lawsuit over its use of Title 42.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.