Trump’s new executive orders on migration are a devastating step backward

The orders included the declaration of a national emergency at the US southern border, effectively militarizing immigration enforcement; "guaranteeing states protection against invasion," which invokes vague public health threats as a basis for law enforcement actions; the temporary suspension of refugee admissions to the US; and the reimposition of the harmful Remain in Mexico policy trapping asylum seekers in situations of danger. 

Even before the executive orders were issued, the new administration took swift action to shut down the CBP One app that, despite its flaws, was the only way to apply for asylum at the US southern border. MSF has spoken out repeatedly about the harmful impacts of deterrence and containment policies under the first Trump administration and under the Biden and Obama administrations. We are once again calling for the development of safe and humane migration policies in line with domestic and international legal obligations.   

President Trump has declared a national emergency, yet irregular crossings along the US southern border have declined to new lows in recent months due, in part, to asylum restrictions implemented in June 2024 by former President Biden. Mexican authorities have been actively preventing migrants and asylum seekers from reaching cities close to the US border, and have reportedly detained more than 475,000 migrants in the last quarter of 2024—up nearly 68 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to government data.

In contexts where MSF works, extreme violence; attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure like hospitals; the denial of aid; and mass displacement threaten people’s lives. The vast majority of people uprooted from their homes remain internally displaced in their country of origin or seek safety in neighboring countries, however some make extraordinarily difficult journeys to seek asylum in the United States. The right to seek asylum is a lifeline for people fleeing violence and persecution.

Avril Benoît, chief executive officer of MSF USA, said today: 

“We are witnessing the reinstatement of some of the most inhumane and harmful immigration policies the US has imposed in recent years. These policies put tens of thousands of people in harm’s way, trapped in desperate conditions and exposed to violence, extortion, and kidnapping. This is a devastating step backward.  

"As medical providers in some of the world's most dangerous places, we see and treat people every day who are desperately seeking safety and trying to escape persecution and violence.

"The Remain in Mexico policy, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), left asylum seekers stranded in Mexico while waiting for their asylum claims to be heard in the US. Between the time Remain in Mexico was introduced by the first Trump administration in 2019 and when the US government stopped enrolling new participants in 2022, more than 75,000 asylum seekers were turned away by the US and sent back to face difficult and dangerous conditions in Mexico.

"We are extremely concerned about the health and safety risks of restarting the Remain in Mexico policy and of invoking public health concerns as a pretext for militarizing border enforcement. We are concerned about the array of measures that will effectively close the US southern border to asylum seekers and inflict harm as a deterrence strategy. Migration policies based on deterrence, criminalization, and containment only cause more pain for vulnerable people who have already suffered and survived so many cruelties.

"Blocking people from seeking asylum in the US and eliminating safe and legal pathways for migration only expose people to greater risks and exploitation. For many of these people, staying home is not an option—and it may be a death sentence.

"The medical and humanitarian consequences of curbing access to asylum are real. We have treated refugees and asylum seekers with horrific injuries from torture and abuse. We also see the severe mental health impacts on people living under constant threat of persecution.

"We ask the new Trump administration to respect people’s right to seek asylum and create humane pathways for people seeking protection. Seeking safety is not a crime."