Migrants Celebrate Joe Biden Ending ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program: ‘I Am Free’

Border crossers, hoping to be released into the United States, are celebrating President Joe Biden ending the widely successful “Remain in Mexico” program that helped reduce asylum fraud.

First started by former President Donald Trump in 2019, the Remain in Mexico program sought to eliminate asylum fraud and end the practice known as “Catch and Release” whereby border crossers and illegal aliens are briefly apprehended before being released into the U.S. interior while they await their future asylum hearings.

The program required border crossers and illegal aliens to wait in Mexico for their asylum hearings in the U.S. after their arrival at the southern border — ensuring they were not simply released into American communities with the hope that they would show up to their hearings.

After the Supreme Court and a lower court ruled that Biden could end Remain in Mexico, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he would finally end the program.

Remain in Mexico’s end means thousands of border crossers enrolled in the program will now be released into American communities on a promise to show up for future hearings.

One border crosser told the San Diego Union-Tribune that he was “free” after learning he would be released into the U.S. interior rather than being returned to Mexico.

The Union-Tribune reports:

“In this moment, I am free,” he told the Union-Tribune in Spanish a few minutes after he was officially released from custody. “Before, I was not free.” [Emphasis added]

The man was among the first migrants released from [Remain in Mexico] this past week with the Biden administration’s announcement that the program was ending, following a lengthy legal battle in federal court. However, days later, most of those enrolled in the program are still waiting to be let into the United States. [Emphasis added]

…

“Knowing that I will be able to be here is huge,” he said. “It’s magnificent.” [Emphasis added]

In San Diego, California, alone, thousands of border crossers are expected to be released into the U.S. interior as a result of Biden ending Remain in Mexico. The program, as federal data shows, was hugely successful.

The latest data shows that of the more than 45,000 Remain in Mexico cases adjudicated since 2019, fewer than 740 migrants have been found to have legitimate asylum claims to remain in the U.S. This indicates that only 1.6 percent of Remain in Mexico migrants end up having valid asylum claims to stay in the U.S.

Meanwhile, more than 71 percent of migrants have been ordered to be deported after failing to show they have legitimate asylum claims. More than 23 percent of migrants terminated their asylum proceedings.

Officials on Biden’s National Security Council have privately warned that the program’s end will drive up illegal immigration at the southern border even more than current levels.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.