Last-ditch effort to cross U.S. border
Migrants seize opportunity as new rules loom
MATAMOROS, MEXICO • Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. 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, clutching plastic bags filled with clothes. One man held a baby in an open suitcase on his head.
On the U.S. side of the river, migrants put on dry clothing and picked their way through concertina wire.
Many immediately surrendered 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's 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.”