Maka Hutson and Hans Rickhoff Author Article on Key Considerations for Reopening US-Mexico Border

Texas Lawyer has published the article “Reopening of US-Mexico Border: Challenges and Opportunities for the Biden Administration,” written by Akin Gump international trade counsel Maka Hutson and public law and policy senior counsel Hans Rickhoff. The article looks at some “specific, measurable policy considerations” for reopening the border between the United States and Mexico.

The considerations that Hutson and Rickhoff discuss include:

• The Migrant Protection Protocols program. With the Biden-Harris administration terminating this program, under which “Central American asylum seekers were required to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims were considered by U.S. immigration courts,” Hutson and Rickhoff write that, “controlling the entry of the large number of migrants at the border will likely be a prerequisite to border reopening, both for political and health-related reasons.”
• Border wall construction. The article notes that an executive order by President Biden has paused construction of the border wall, but, the authors write, consultations “on how to best utilize the funds allocated to DHS should be a central component of the current debate.”
• COVID-19 testing and vaccination campaigns. Border communities “on both sides will need to emphasize continued aggressive testing,” Hutson and Rickhoff write, “as any new outbreak in the border communities on the U.S. side—once the virus has been declared controlled—could create additional complications.” They also note that it may be difficult to prevent non-vaccinated travelers from entering for temporary reasons.

The article concludes by suggesting that the White House take certain steps to ensure “that these symbiotic border communities can function while appropriately using already appropriated federal dollars to maintain a safe and secure border.”

To read the article in full, please click here.