The United States has scrapped an anti-migration measure imposed by former President Donald Trump, which critics have labelled as cruel.
Asylum seekers no longer have to wait in Mexico while their application is pending in court.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would end the Trump-era rule. But, shortly before that, a court lifted a ban preventing President Joe Biden’s administration from ending the so-called Stay in Mexico policy.
That ban was enforced by US states led by Mexico-border Texas.
Under Trump, at least 70,000 asylum seekers have been sent back to appear in the US for asylum hearings. Critics called the policy cruel and dangerous. Instead, vulnerable people should live in unsafe conditions in border towns.