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No Mass Crossings Seen on US's Southern Border After Title 42 Expired Thursday Night

© AP Photo / Gregory BullMigrants wait along a border wall Aug. 23, 2022, after crossing from Mexico near Yuma, Ariz.
Migrants wait along a border wall Aug. 23, 2022, after crossing from Mexico near Yuma, Ariz. - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.05.2023
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Sputnik), Kristopher Rivera - No mass crossings were seen along the US-Mexico border in West Texas after the Title 42 public health policy expired late Thursday night, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
"Starting tonight, people who arrive at the border without using a lawful pathway will be presumed ineligible for asylum. We are ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to remain in the US," Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement after Title 42 expired. "People who do not use available lawful pathways to enter the US now face tougher consequences, including a minimum five-year ban on re-entry and potential criminal prosecution."
As Title 42 expired at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, there were still hundreds of migrants gathered together on US soil in El Paso, Texas, between barbed wired fencing and the border wall, waiting for US immigration authorities to transport them out of the area to be processed.
Dozens of US Border Patrol agents, US military personnel, and Texas state police officers were positioned along the border in El Paso, where in recent weeks tens of thousands of migrants poured in ahead of the Thursday deadline.
A small group of migrants arrived too late and were denied entry into the United States. One armed US soldier approached and stopped two migrant men attempting to make their way through the barbed wired fence.
Alexander Pal, 23, and his seven-year-old son, of Venezuela, were among the migrants who arrived too late at the US southern border.
"They closed the doors on us, the ones barely arriving would not have an opportunity to cross until after Title 42 expired," Pal told Sputnik. "We stayed a while longer to see if a group of people would try to cross, but nothing happened. They told us to apply for an appointment online through the CBP One application. They told us to apply and be patient to enter lawfully."
Pal said he, his son, and four other migrants from Venezuela arrived in Juarez earlier on Thursday by train.
"We're going to find a shelter to stay at because we don't have any money to spend," Pal said. "We'll see if we can find someone to help us with a place to stay at for tonight and provide us with some food."
Mexican law enforcement, armed with assault rifles, also stepped up patrols along the US-Mexico border after Title 42 came to an end. They stopped and searched a group of about six migrants who were seen walking a few yards away from the border.
Earlier in the day, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told reporters that up to 65,000 migrants were waiting in northern Mexico to cross into the United States, but he noted those were not unusually high numbers compared to the previous two years.
Мигранты пересекают Рио-Гранде в направлении американо-мексиканской границы в Сьюдад-Хуаресе, Мексика - Sputnik International, 1920, 06.05.2023
Americas
'They're Everywhere': Hundreds of Migrants Arrive on US-Mexico Border Ahead of Title 42 End
An all-time record number of migrants have arrived at the US southern border under the Biden administration, hitting two consecutive records in 2021 and 2022, totaling over 2.3 million people. In fiscal year 2023, the US authorities said they have encountered more than 1.2 million migrants. Fox News and other media outlets have said the number of illegal immigrants that have entered the United States since Biden assumed office has exceeded six million.
Ortiz stated that more than 26,000 migrants have been apprehended on the US southern border earlier this week. More than 10,300 migrants illegally crossed the US southern border on Tuesday, according to media reports.
US President Joe Biden said earlier this week that the administration expects the situation near the border to be chaotic.
Media reported, citing US government data, that between 11,000 and 13,000 daily migrant arrivals were expected after Title 42 expires.
Title 42, the Trump-era public health emergency order imposed in March 2020, allowed the US government to turn away illegal immigrants at the border to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The United States anticipated a massive surge of migrants would attempt to cross into the country illegally once it was lifted.
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