No mass crossings were seen along the US-Mexico border in West Texas after the Title 42 public health policy expired late Thursday night, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
«Starting tonight, people who arrive at the border without using a lawful pathway will be presumed ineligible for asylum. We are ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to remain in the US,» Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement after Title 42 expired. «People who do not use available lawful pathways to enter the US now face tougher consequences, including a minimum five-year ban on re-entry and potential criminal prosecution.» As Title 42 expired at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, there were still hundreds of migrants gathered together on US soil in El Paso, Texas, between barbed wired fencing and the border wall, waiting for US immigration authorities to transport them out of the area to be processed. Dozens of US Border Patrol agents, US military personnel, and Texas state police officers were positioned along the border in El Paso, where in recent weeks tens of thousands of migrants poured in ahead of the Thursday deadline.
