Pandemic-Era Border Policy Expires Amid Migrant Surge

The pandemic-era border measure used to quickly expel asylum seekers ended late Thursday with thousands of migrants crossing into the U.S. before midnight in anticipation of harsher immigration rules.

There were no immediate reports of a rush of migrants at legal ports of entry or elsewhere, which authorities feared would occur right after the expiration of Title 42. Under the public-health rule, U.S. authorities could send migrants who crossed the border illegally back to Mexico before they could request asylum.

Along the U.S.-Mexico border from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas, thousands of migrants sought to enter the U.S. in recent days before the most significant change in migration rules since early in the pandemic.

“People who don’t use available lawful pathways to enter the U.S. now face tougher consequences,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement Thursday.