Migrants rush to US-Mexico border as Biden revokes asylum restrictions

Migrants raced to the Mexican border to enter the US before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted.

The asylum restrictions threaten to put a historic strain on the nation’s beleaguered immigration system.

The imminent end of the rules known as Title 42 stirred fear among migrants that the changes would make it more difficult for them to stay in the U.S.

At Matamoros, across from Texas's Brownsville, throngs of migrants waded across spring river currents, pushed through thickets to confront a border fortified with razor wire.

A U.S. official reported the Border Patrol stopped some 10,000 migrants, only slightly below the 11,000 figure that authorities have said is the upper limit of what they expect after Title 42 ends.

Title 42 allows border officials to quickly return asylum seekers back over the border on grounds of preventing the spread of Covid.

President Joe Biden’s administration has been unveiling strict new measures to replace Title 42.

Under the new policies on illegal crossings, legal pathways are set up for migrants who apply online, seek a sponsor and undergo background checks. If successful, the reforms could alter how migrants arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Title 42 carried no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts but now migrants face being barred from entering the U.S. for five years and possible criminal prosecution.