Expiry of US pandemic rules fuels migrant rush

Borders face influx from south amid uncertainty over latest restrictions

Pandemic-related asylum restrictions that expelled migrants millions of times were lifted early on Friday, as people raced to enter the United States before new rules announced by President Joe Biden's administration set in.

The expired rule, known as Title 42, was reintroduced by former president Donald Trump in March 2020. It has allowed US border patrol officers to turn away migrants immediately for the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic even if they had asked for asylum. It expired at 11:59 pm on Thursday.

But the Biden administration issued an executive order on Wednesday that would deny asylum to migrants who arrived in the US without first applying online or seeking asylum in the country they passed through. Migrants caught crossing the border illegally would not be able to enter the US for five years after Title 42 ends.