WASHINGTON — The Center for Victims of Torture™ (CVT) today issued this statement as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Remain in Mexico policy will finally come to an end.

“It is long past time that the Remain in Mexico policy ends and asylum seekers are no longer forced to wait in Mexico, sometimes for years, while their asylum processes move ahead at an often-glacial pace. This policy forces asylum seekers to wait in dangerous, often unsanitary conditions, and exposes them to violence and abuse. It is a hallmark of the Trump administration’s cruel and inhumane efforts to keep asylum seekers out of the U.S.

“Tens of thousands of migrants, including the many torture survivors among them, have effectively been stranded in dangerous border cities, in camps and shelters that provide few resources and little security. Human Rights First has reported widespread violence and kidnappings as a result of Remain in Mexico.

“We applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Biden administration to end the Remain in Mexico policy and the harm it inflicts on those seeking safety in the United States. Everyone has the right to seek asylum, but this policy cast that right aside. We welcome this progress, and urge the Biden administration to take the additional steps that are desperately needed to create a fair, humane, trauma-informed asylum system.” -Scott Roehm, CVT Washington director

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The Center for Victims of Torture is a nonprofit organization with offices in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, United States and additional project sites around the world.

Visit www.cvt.org