A coronavirus pandemic-era public health restriction that allowed the U.S. to expel asylum seekers is set to expire at 8:59 p.m.Thursday, changing U.S. immigration policy.
The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through.
The new rule represents a significant change in the way the U.S. deals with asylum seekers who have been showing up at the border in huge numbers in anticipation of this week’s end of the use of a restriction known as Title 42.
The impending expiration prompted migrants from different countries to rush to U.S.-Mexico border points of entry at some locations along the border. President Joe Biden ordered 1,500 to the border to brace for an influx of asylum seekers, although they're not meant to interact with migrants, the administration said.
Near San Ysidro, migrant people have waited for days to begin their asylum cases and make an effort to enter the U.S. Volunteers have dropped off supplies such as blankets, cell phone charges, food and water to those seeking asylum.
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Mahya, age 4, from Afghanisan is waiting with her mother, father and four outer sisters to get into the U.S. at the U.S.- Mexico border in Tijuana. Her sister said life for five daughters was too difficult in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Migrants hoping to cross into the United States from Tijuana, Mexico, wait in an area south of the second border wall in anticipation of a change in immigration policy, Title 42, which may allow them to apply for asylum. The change is scheduled to go into effect at midnight on May 11, 2023. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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This aerial image shows migrants as they wait for asylum hearings, at the US-Mexico border, as seen from San Ysidro, California, on May 10, 2023. The US on May 11, 2023, will officially end its 40-month Covid-19 emergency, also discarding the Title 42 law, a tool that has been used to prevent millions of migrants from entering the country. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP) (Photo by SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Migrants wait for asylum hearings at the US-Mexico border on May 10, 2023 in San Ysidro, California. The US on May 11, 2023, will officially end its 40-month Covid-19 emergency, also discarding the Title 42 law, a tool that has been used to prevent millions of migrants from entering the country. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP) (Photo by SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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SAN DIEGO, CA – MAY 09: Migrants of various nationalities have been trapped between the primary and secondary border fences of the San Diego-Tijuana border sector for seven days following US prepares to lift COVID-19-era restrictions known as Title 42, which have prevented migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from requesting asylum since 2020, in San Diego, California on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Carlos A. Moreno/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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TOPSHOT – Migrants wait for asylum hearings at the US-Mexico border on May 10, 2023, as seen from San Ysidro, California. The US on May 11, 2023, will officially end its 40-month Covid-19 emergency, also discarding the Title 42 law, a tool that has been used to prevent millions of migrants from entering the country. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP) (Photo by SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Joe Little
From between the U.S.-Mexico border, a U.S. border patrol agent oversees migrants near San Ysidro on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
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Joe Little
Migrants are seen at the U.S.-Mexico border near San Ysidro on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
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TOPSHOT – Migrants wait for asylum hearings at the US-Mexico border on May 10, 2023 in San Ysidro, California. The US on May 11, 2023, will officially end its 40-month Covid-19 emergency, also discarding the Title 42 law, a tool that has been used to prevent millions of migrants from entering the country. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP) (Photo by SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Joe Little
Volunteers drop off supplies to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Ysidro on May 11, 2023 — hours before Title 42 is slated to expire.
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Migrants hoping to cross into the United States from Tijuana, Mexico, wait in an area south of the second border wall in anticipation of a change in immigration policy, Title 42, which may allow them to apply for asylum. The change is scheduled to go into effect at midnight on May 11, 2023. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Migrants wait for asylum hearings at the US-Mexico border on May 10, 2023 in San Ysidro, California. The US on May 11, 2023, will officially end its 40-month Covid-19 emergency, also discarding the Title 42 law, a tool that has been used to prevent millions of migrants from entering the country. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP) (Photo by SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Migrants of various nationalities have been trapped between the primary and secondary border fences of the San Diego-Tijuana border sector for seven days following US prepares to lift COVID-19-era restrictions known as Title 42, which have prevented migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from requesting asylum since 2020, in San Diego, California on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Carlos A. Moreno/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Migrants’ cell phones are charged by aid workers in the US as they wait for asylum hearings at the US-Mexico border on May 10, 2023 in San Ysidro, California. The US on May 11, 2023, will officially end its 40-month Covid-19 emergency, also discarding the Title 42 law, a tool that has been used to prevent millions of migrants from entering the country. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP) (Photo by SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Aerial view of United States Customs and Border Protection officers running a drill at San Ysidro crossing port on the US-Mexico border seen from Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on May 10, 2023. A surge of migrants is expected at the US-Mexico border cities as President Biden administration is officially ending its use of Title 42. On May 11, President Joe Biden’s administration will lift Title 42, the strict protocol implemented by previous president Donald Trump to deny entry to migrants and expel asylum seekers based on the Covid pandemic emergency. (Photo by Guillermo Arias / AFP) (Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)
