(NewsNation) — Less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump is set to enter the White House for his second nonconsecutive term, Senate lawmakers are hosting a hearing about his controversial ‘Remain in Mexico’ immigration policy.
Questioning from senators largely fell along party lines, with Republicans expressing far more support for the policy. Witnesses offered caution on some elements.
On the overall issue of immigration, witnesses noted comprehensive immigration reform is the responsibility of Congress, and there is a limit to what can be achieved through executive action.
Migrant crime
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., had a heated exchange with witness Adam Isacson, who Hawley referred to as a representative of the minority party.
Isacson pushed back against the issue of migrant crime, saying it is not the issue it has been made out to be. Data is limited, but what exists suggests immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens.
Hawley responded with a speech regarding two violent crimes in which the perpetrators had entered the country illegally, accusing Isacson of dismissing their deaths.
‘Remain in Mexico’
During his first term, Trump implemented the policy, also called “Migration Protection Protocols,” which required asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico until their claims were processed. Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration ended the policy in 2022.
During the 2024 election, Trump said he plans to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy and start other hard-line immigration measures such as mass deportations.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also said he would immediately take up the matter.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing is set for 9 a.m. ET.
Those testifying include Kenneth Cuccinelli, a former senior official in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Andrew Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies; and Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for the Washington Office on Latin America.
Lutheran Social Services, an immigration relief and refugee welcome agency, in a statement ahead of the hearing, criticized the “Remain in Mexico” policy as a stark departure from longstanding U.S. asylum procedures and protections.
When it was in effect, “families and individuals faced dangerous and unsafe conditions, including violence, exploitation, and inadequate essential services like healthcare, education, and housing” in Northern Mexico, Lutheran Social Services said.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the “Remain in Mexico” policy, saying it left “vulnerable asylum-seekers stranded.”
“The Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) policy was one of the most abusive and egregious of President Trump’s attacks on the asylum system, exposing vulnerable people to violence and murder,” the ACLU said in a statement to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “The policy was a boon to organized crime in Mexico and inflicted horrendous and lasting harm on asylum-seekers, including their minor children.”
NewsNation digital producer Ashley Soriano contributed to this report.