Migrants rush across US border in final hours before expiration of Title 42

MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP):

Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday, in hopes of entering the US in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted – a change that many feared could make it more difficult for them to stay.

With a midnight deadline looming, migrants in Mexico shed clothing before descending a steep bank into the Rio Grande, clutching plastic bags filled with clothes. One man held a baby in an open suitcase on his head.

On the US side of the river, migrants put on dry clothing and picked their way through concertina wire. Many surrendered immediately to authorities and hoped to be released while pursuing their cases in backlogged immigration courts, which takes years.

President Joe Biden’s administration has been unveiling strict new measures to replace the restrictions known as Title 42. The outgoing rules have allowed border officials, since March 2020, to quickly return asylum-seekers back over the border, on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The new policies crack down on illegal crossings while also setting up legal pathways for migrants who apply online, seek a sponsor, and undergo background checks. If successful, the reforms could fundamentally alter how migrants arrive at the US-Mexico border.

But that’s a big ‘if’. President Joe Biden has conceded that the border will be chaotic for a while. Immigrant advocacy groups have threatened legal action. And migrants fleeing poverty, gangs and persecution in their homelands are still desperate to reach US soil at any cost.

William Contreras of Venezuela said Title 42 was good for people from his South American country. He heard that many migrants before him were released in the United States.

“What we understand is that they won’t be letting anyone else in,” said Contreras’ friend, Pablo, who declined to give his last name because he planned to cross the border illegally. “That’s the reason for our urgency to cross through the border today.”

While Title 42 prevented many from seeking asylum, it carried no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts. After Thursday, migrants face being barred from entering the US for five years, and possible criminal prosecution.

FAR BEYOND CAPACITY

Holding facilities along the border were far beyond capacity, and Border Patrol agents were told Wednesday to begin releasing some migrants with instructions to appear at a US immigration office within 60 days, according to a US official. Agents were also told to start the releases in any area where holding facilities were at 125 per cent capacity or the average time in custody exceeded 60 hours. They were also instructed to start releases if 7,000 migrants were taken into custody across the entire border in one day.

The Border Patrol stopped about 10,000 migrants on Tuesday, one of its busiest days ever, according to a second US official who provided information to the AP on condition of anonymity, because the official was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.

That’s nearly double the daily average of about 5,200 in March, the latest publicly available data, and close to the 11,000 that US officials have predicted is the upper limit of the surge they anticipate after Title 42.

More than 27,000 people were in US Customs and Border Protection custody, the official said.

On Thursday, about 400 migrants huddled in strong winds whipping up the sand on the bank of the Rio Grande east of El Paso as groups of Texas National Guard soldiers constructed concertina-wire barriers.