US Begins Returning Migrants At Port Of Entry In Arizona - Border Patrol

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd January, 2020) The United States has expanded its Migrant Protection Protocols program to include the Nogales Port of Entry in Arizona, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a press release on Thursday.

"Today, the Department of Homeland Security will begin processing migrants for return to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) at the Nogales Port of Entry south of Tucson, Arizona," the release said.

The expansion brings the total number of ports of entry under the MPP program to seven, the release said. Previously, migrants apprehended on Arizona's southern border with Mexico were returned to Mexico through the Texas city of El Paso.

MPP has also been implemented in the US southern border towns of San Diego, Calexico, Laredo, Brownsville and Eagle Pass.

The MPP program requires migrants to return to Mexico while they await their immigration hearings. More than 56,000 migrants have been subjected to the policy.

The release said MPP has been a crucial program in helping address the migration crisis on the US-Mexico border.