Updated Practice Advisory: Firm Resettlement Considerations in the Wake of the “Migrant Protection Protocols” Wind-Down

Last Updated

July 29, 2021

In 2019, the Trump administration implemented the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, forcing many asylum seekers to remain in Mexico for months or even years awaiting a court date before a U.S. immigration judge. In the spring of 2021, the Biden administration began to wind-down MPP, allowing many asylum seekers who had been forcibly stranded in Mexico into the United States to pursue their claims for asylum. This updated practice advisory discusses the firm resettlement bar under U.S. asylum law, how the Department of Homeland Security may argue that it would apply in the MPP context, and practical tips to counter such arguments.