Immigrant Defenders Law Center et al. v. Mullin, Case No. 2:20-cv-09893 (U.S. District Court for the Central District of California), No. 25-2581 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
Seeking asylum is a fundamental human right recognized under international law, but in January 2019, the Trump administration obstructed this fundamental right when it launched the “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), better known as “Remain in Mexico.” MPP sent tens of thousands of people seeking protection at the southern border into precarious, life-threatening situations in Mexico and deprived them of access to legal assistance and other tools needed to meaningfully present their asylum claims.
This class action lawsuit challenges the government’s implementation of MPP from 2019 through 2021, arguing that the policy denied asylum seekers their rights to apply for asylum, their right to legal counsel, and their rights under the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
The named plaintiffs in the case are two legal services organizations that served asylum seekers enrolled at MPP – Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Jewish Family Service of San Diego – and several brave asylum seekers from Guatemala, Venezuela, Honduras, Cuba, and Nicaragua, including a father and his daughter, a couple with three young children, and a transgender woman.
In January 2025, the Trump administration announced that it would restart MPP and the National Immigration Project and its co-counsel immediately moved for a stay of the reimplementation of the program. The district court initially paused the policy nationwide, but the Ninth Circuit later limited that protection to ImmDef’s current and future clients. The Trump administration then appealed the stay decision, and that appeal is currently pending. While the government’s appeal remains pending, those clients may not be placed in MPP.