Border securityDHS Begins MPP Returns at Nogales Port of Entry in Arizona

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that on Thursday it has begun processing migrants for return to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) at the Nogales Port of Entry south of Tucson, Arizona. This brings the total number of ports of entry where MPP returns will be made to seven. DHS says that any migrants making illegal or inadmissible entry at the Southwest Border, regardless of location of entry, may be returned to Mexico through one of these locations to await their immigration court proceedings. Previously, migrants apprehended in the Tucson Sector were returned to Mexico through El Paso for processing under MPP. The expansion to the Nogales Port of Entry reflects the continued commitment by both the United States and Mexico to a program that has proven effective at reducing human smuggling across the Southwest Border.

The program, first implemented in January 2019 pursuant to a law passed by Congress in 1996 on a bipartisan basis, allows certain aliens to remain in Mexico while awaiting court proceedings in the United States. “MPP has been a crucial element of DHS’s success in addressing the ongoing crisis, securing the border, and ending catch and release. So far, more than 56,000 migrants have been returned to Mexico to await their immigration hearings,” DHS said.

“MPP has been an extremely effective tool as the United States, under the leadership of President Trump, continues to address the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis at the border,” said Acting Secretary Chad Wolf. “The Department is fully committed to the program and will continually work with the Government of Mexico to expand and strengthen it. I am confident in the program’s continued success in adjudicating meritorious cases quickly and preventing fraudulent claims.”

MPP has been implemented and expanded in cooperation with the government of Mexico in and around San Diego, Calexico, El Paso, Laredo, Brownsville, and Eagle Pass.

DAH says that MPP remains an important part of DHS’s efforts to restore integrity to the U.S. immigration system and relieve the crushing backlog of pending asylum cases.

The MPP is facing a court challenge.