MATAMOROS, Mexico—Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the United States 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.
On the U.S. 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 U.S.–Mexico border.
But that’s a big “if.” 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 U.S. soil at any cost.
William Contreras of Venezuela said Title 42 was good for people from his wracked 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 United States for five years and possible criminal prosecution.
Holding facilities along the border were far beyond capacity.
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.
Major Sean Storrud of the Texas National Guard said his troops have explained to migrants the consequences of crossing illegally.
“The migrants don’t really know what’s going to happen,” Storrud said.
On Wednesday, Homeland Security announced a rule to make it extremely difficult for anyone who travels through another country, like Mexico, to qualify for asylum. It also introduced curfews with GPS tracking for families released in the United States before initial asylum screenings.
At the same time, the administration has introduced expansive new legal pathways into the United States.
Up to 30,000 people a month from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela can enter if they apply online with a financial sponsor and enter through an airport. Processing centers are opening in Guatemala, Colombia, and elsewhere. Up to 1,000 can enter daily through land crossings with Mexico if they snag an appointment on an online app.
In San Diego, more than 100 migrants, many of them Colombian families, slept under plastic tarps between two border walls, watched over by Border Patrol agents who had nowhere to take them for processing.
Albino Leon, 51, said the end of Title 42 prompted the family to make the journey.
“With the changes they are making to the laws, it’s now or never,” said Leon, who flew to Mexico from Colombia and got past a first border wall to reach U.S. soil.
Miguel Meza, head of migrant programs for Catholic Relief Services, which has 26 migrant shelters in Mexico, estimates that there are about 55,000 migrants in border cities across from the United States. More arrive daily from the south, as well as migrants expelled by the United States back to Mexico.
Migrants have strained some U.S. cities over the last year.
Elías Guerra, 20, came to Denver last week after hearing it was a welcoming place where he could get a free bus ticket to his final destination. After four nights in a church shelter, the city provided a $58 ticket to New York. He left Wednesday night.
“Here it’s comfortable. It’s safe. There’s food. There’s shelter. There’s restrooms,” Guerra said as he waited with other migrants in a parking garage where the city processed new arrivals.
