Save the Children CEO: Decision to Uphold MPP Reinstatement Alarming, Asylum-Seeking Children Deserve Better

Washington, D.C. (August 24, 2021) – In response to tonight's Supreme Court decision to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), more commonly known as the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, Janti Soeripto, Save the Children President and CEO, issued the following statement:

Tonight's Supreme Court decision to uphold the reinstatement of MPP is alarming, and will undoubtedly result in asylum-seeking children and families being subject to more unnecessary violence and danger. Seeking asylum is not a crime – as a country, we must do better. Save the Children has advocated against this harmful policy since it was enacted in 2019, and worked closely with the Biden administration to ensure it was rescinded. MPP is a policy proven to be extremely detrimental to asylum-seeking families and children forced to wait in Mexico, putting them at risk of violence, limiting their access to due process protections and gravely violating their human rights.

The reinstatement of MPP is a worrisome step backward in our fight for a more humane and just asylum system, and dangerously legitimizes anti-migrant sentiments. Children and families escaping violence, persecution and extreme poverty deserve to be protected, and treated with dignity, respect and compassion. We call upon the Biden administration to act swiftly to find a solution that serves the best interests of asylum-seeking children and families. This nation must reclaim its moral standing and prevent children from becoming exposed to more violence and abuse.

Save the Children – together with its political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network – will continue to mobilize on behalf of asylum-seeking children and families to ensure MPP is not reinstated, and that they are treated legally and humanely, with dignity and respect.