Migrants rush to the US border as Title 42 pandemic restrictions expire
The US ended a three-year-old asylum restriction, Title 42, stirring fear among migrants that the changes would make it more difficult for them to stay on.
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An aerial view of migrants making their way across the Rio Grande to enter the United States on May 11 in Matamoros, Mexico. A surge of migrants are expected with the end of the US government's Covid-19 era Title 42 policy, which for the past three years has allowed for the quick expulsion of irregular migrants entering the country.(Joe Raedle/ Getty Images/ AFP)
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Migrants try to get to the US through the Rio Grande as seen from Matamoros in Mexico on May 11. On the day, President Joe Biden's administration will lift Title 42, the strict protocol implemented by previous president Donald Trump to deny entry to migrants and expel asylum seekers based on the Covid pandemic emergency.(Alfredo Estrella / AFP )
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Migrants line up to be processed to make asylum claims at a makeshift migrant camp in El Paso, Texas. 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 U.S. for five years and possible criminal prosecution, reported AP(John Moore / Getty Images / AFP )
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Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States wait in line before sunrise to be processed by US Border Patrol agents after crossing into Arizona from Mexico on May 11 in Yuma, Arizona. The Border Patrol stopped some 10,000 migrants on Tuesday — nearly twice the average daily level from March and only slightly below the 11,000 figure that authorities have said is the upper limit of what they expect after Title 42 ends, one U.S. official said.(Mario Tama / Getty Images / AFP )
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