Statement of the American Immigration Council Submitted to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Hearing on Remain in Mexico

The American Immigration Council submitted a statement for the record for the January 16, 2025, hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the Remain in Mexico program. The Council’s statement notes that while the program was in effect, we – as well as other analysts – did not find the implementation of Remain in Mexico to have a clear effect on border crossings, despite proponents’ continued assertions that it was responsible for deterring unauthorized migration to the United States. What we and others did find, however, were widespread humanitarian abuses under the program, which put large numbers of migrants at acute risk of kidnapping, torture, and rape while failing to provide them with meaningful due process under U.S. immigration law.