Immigration News Updates: 01/04/2022

President Biden has taken his appeal to remove the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the Remain in Mexico policy, to the US Supreme Court. Biden initially removed the Trump-era policy during the beginning of his tenure, but was forced to reinstate it after losing an appeal in late 2021. Although the Biden administration has made changes to the policy to try and make the policy more humanitarian, such as vaccines and increased access to legal advice, the policy has been heavily criticized for exposing refugees to high levels of violence and exploitation in the Mexican camps they are forced to wait in. Biden's stance has also been called into question by immigration advocates; as the appeal is taken to the Supreme Court, the administration plans to extend the policy to more cities along the border. As of the beginning of January, 200 migrants have already been returned to Mexico to await their hearings, and 36 have appeared in immigration court. It is currently unknown whether the Supreme Court will decide to hear the appeal.
Source: The Hill; Roll Call; Axios
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/587684-biden-asks-supreme-court-to-hear-case-on-remain-in?rl=1
https://www.rollcall.com/2021/12/30/high-court-asked-to-review-remain-in-mexico-termination/
https://www.rollcall.com/2022/01/03/court-hearings-begin-for-revived-remain-in-mexico-policy/
https://www.axios.com/immigration-remain-in-mexico-expands-court-hearings-begin-4cf054d8-55de-4828-acea-a28a4d4a8c78.html


Other News:
--The city of Houston, Texas, was found to have the highest rate of denial in asylum cases brought before judges, with 89% of petitions ending in denial.
--Immigrants from all over the world now living in the US have been helping resettlement efforts for Afghan refugees, including a Bosnian community in Iowa and a medical center staffed by immigrants in California.
--The Biden administration has lifted temporary travel restrictions that had been placed on Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe due to the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.
--The US Department of State has increased the prices for a US passport by $20, resulting in a new fee of $165 for an initial adult passport, $130 for an adult passport renewal, and $135 for a children's passport.
--Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has reopened negotiations concerning his vote on President Biden's Build Back Better bill, after announcing his plans not to support the bill at the end of last year.