Hours after the Biden administration insisted its new border immigration strategy would be a success, the stream of migrants crossing into US soil showed no sign of slowing down in Yuma, Arizona.
Before the clock struck midnight, a group of about 50 Peruvians came running along the edge of the towering border wall.
One of them slowed to a trot to yell a question, “Where’s the Border Patrol?” Then they set off again to try to escape the night before a new crew arrived in this dusty corner of Southwest America.
Border towns this week braced for the end of Title 42 — a pandemic-era regulation that allowed migrants to be returned directly to Mexico without even seeking asylum.
Groups from both Peru and Senegal beat the clock just shy of title 42 expiration in Yuma, Arizona
Before the clock struck midnight, a group of about 50 Peruvians came running along the edge of the towering border wall.
It officially ended one minute before midnight eastern time on Thursday night.
In fact, the wave started days before the deadline. Officials have said about 10,000 people a day have been detained at the border this week.
Thousands forded the Rio Grande, which marks the international border, to arrive in Brownsville. In El Paso, they traversed a muddy stream and twists of barbed wire.
In Yuma, 53-year-old Ruth raised her hand to the sky in gratitude.
“We praise God for opening the way for us,” she said as her 12-year-old son hopped beside her.
But when Title 42 ended, the Biden administration insisted it had a new strict regime to thwart would-be migrants.
“We have been preparing for this moment for almost two years and our plan will pay off,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at the White House.
“It will take time to fully realize those results. And it is essential that we all take that into account.’
However, the new policy immediately suffered a setback. While it tightened some restrictions, it also tried to provide a new legal path for people with genuine asylum claims.
But a Florida judge ruled that the government could not use parole — effectively releasing unprocessed migrants — to ease pressure on detention centers.
Either way, the new measures may not come soon enough for officials in border towns.
With minutes to go, another group of dozens of migrants, this time mostly from Senegal, came running into view. This time they came mostly from Senegal, and this time Bureau of Land Management rangers stopped to intercept them before they could disappear into the night.
Hours after the Biden administration insisted its new border immigration strategy would be a success, the stream of migrants crossing into US soil showed no sign of slowing down in Yuma, Arizona
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says the number has already exceeded the capacity of reception facilities at 28,000 migrants, according to the head of the Border Patrol union.
In some places, this means that migrants are released without being properly treated and court dates not set.
One of the hotspots is Yuma. On Thursday morning, hundreds of migrants could be seen queuing to be processed by CBP after stepping onto US soil.
And hours before Title 42 ended, the city’s mayor demanded that Biden declare a national emergency to channel more federal aid to border communities.
And Mayor Douglas Nicholls said CBP would release 141 illegal migrants to the streets on Friday, the first release in two years.
He said the emergency was not unforeseen but that the government had not prepared.
“We see the cost of illegal activity as many migrants fall victim to cartels, who smuggle both drugs and people across the border into the US in dangerous and often deadly ways,” Nicholls wrote in a letter to Biden.
“These activities are cartel business and lead to exploitation and rape and abuse and neglect.”
Title 42 was activated by the Trump administration to contain the spread of COVID-19. It is a public health measure that allows border authorities to immediately deport arrivals before they can even apply for asylum.
But now that the pandemic is over, this Thursday ends at midnight eastern time.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explained on Thursday that the end of Title 42 meant migrants would now be processed under Title 8
The Biden administration has urgently implemented new restrictions, effectively reinstating Trump’s “transit ban,” which allows for the deportation of new arrivals who have not sought asylum in the countries they traveled through.
Migrants can legally report to the border if they have used a mobile app, CBP One, to pre-register.
But as a result, the Biden administration is still struggling to get the message out that the gates to the US are not being thrown open.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explained on Thursday that the end of Title 42 meant that migrants would now be treated under Title 8.
“Here’s what that means,” he said. “If anyone arrives at our southern border after midnight tonight, they will be deemed ineligible for asylum and there will be more severe consequences for illegal entry, including a minimum five-year ban on return and possible criminal prosecution.”
Don’t listen to the people who offer you a path to the promised land, he added.
“Know this: Smugglers only care about profit, not people,” he said.
That didn’t impress Yuma’s sheriff.
Sheriff Leon Wilmot told DailyMai.com that the lack of preparation meant President Joe Biden was unable to enforce existing border laws and said overwhelmed authorities in nearby Cochise County were already letting people onto the streets without proper processing or court hearings.
He reserved anger mainly for Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, claiming that the US reacted more harshly.
“It’s a cluster,” Yuma Sheriff Leon Wilmot told DailyMail.com on Thursday in an exclusive interview about the end of Title 42. He and his county are on the front lines of the border crisis
Hours before Title 42 was lifted, hundreds of migrants lined up on US soil in Yuma to begin the asylum application process. The number has risen sharply in recent days
“Any good leader dealing with this kind of situation would have stepped up Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), got emergency funding for ICE, put up shelters in their temporary buildings to accommodate all of this so that proper processing could take place. be implemented,” he said. said.
‘He did none of this. So he has no plan.
“His plan, of course, is deliberate to just let everyone into this country and try to track down those many millions of people years later.
“It is a false narrative that this administration is foisting on the American people.”