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Strict new rules come into force at US-Mexico border as Title 42 immigration ban expires
![Strict new rules come into force at US-Mexico border as Title 42 immigration ban expires]()
Title 42 has ended Strict new rules come into force at US-Mexico border as Title 42 immigration ban expires
The changes come with the end of coronavirus restrictions on asylum that have allowed the U.S. to quickly turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for the past three years.
Secretary of homeland security warns ‘the border is not open’ after thousands of migrants had crossed onto US soil, hoping to be processed before midnight
The US has ended Covid-19 border restrictions that blocked many migrants at the border with Mexico, immediately replacing the so-called Title 42 restrictions with sweeping new asylum rules meant to deter illegal crossings.
Secretary of homeland security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said on Thursday evening that 24,000 border patrol agents and officers had been sent to the border to enforce US laws, adding “the border is not open”.
“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.
In the hours before the new regulations went into effect, thousands of migrants waded through rivers, climbed walls and scrambled up embankments on to US soil, hoping to be processed before midnight.
The Biden administration announced in January it was ending the declared national emergencies linked to the coronavirus spelling the end of using Title 42 to deal with immigration.
As of midnight Friday, migrants will be allowed to request refuge again when they approach official border ports of entry – but the Biden administration plans to speed up initial interviews by agents to decide who has a case to take to court, prompting immigrant advocates to complain that a rushed process will be unfair.
The new rule presumes most migrants are ineligible for asylum if they passed through other nations without first seeking protection elsewhere, or if they failed to use legal pathways for US entry, which Biden has expanded.
