On Friday, the US lifted COVID-19 border restrictions that had prevented many migrants from entering from Mexico. The previous Title 42 order was immediately replaced with a new asylum regulation aimed at discouraging illegal crossings, but last-minute legal challenges have added uncertainty to the implementation of the new policy.
Immigration advocates filed a lawsuit claiming that the new asylum bars violate US laws and international agreements, likening them to restrictions issued by former President Donald Trump.
Migrants scrambled to enter the US before the new regulation took effect, with some turning themselves in to border officials and others attempting to cross undetected. The new regulation presumes that most migrants are ineligible for asylum if they failed to use legal pathways for US entry.
Trump first implemented Title 42 in March 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19, but Democrats, public health experts, and immigration advocates saw it as a means to block migrants at the border. Biden kept Title 42 in place and expanded it.
Even before Title 42 expired, Biden's administration was struggling with record numbers of migrants at the border, leading Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other officials to warn that illegal crossers would face consequences.