The 5th U.S. Circuit Court ruled to uphold a lower court decision mandating the use of the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, which forces asylum seekers to await U.S. immigration court hearings in Mexico. 

A report from the advocacy group Human Rights First shows more than 1,500 cases of violent crime against migrants enrolled in MPP under former President Donald Trump. The Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security ended the controversial policy earlier this year, but a federal court in Texas ruled the change illegal and ordered it restored.

In the new decision, Trump-appointed Judge Andrew Oldham said DHS tried to end MPP without acknowledging rule-making procedures, doing a judicial review or getting input from Congress. 

It comes just a week after the Biden administration began sending migrants back to Mexico under MPP again. The administration says the revamped policy will have more safeguards for migrants, like access to legal assistance and a timeframe in which their cases are resolved. But rights groups say there’s no humane way to instate the policy.