The US Gets Ready to Arrest Thousands of Migrants at Its Border

On Wednesday, tens of thousands of migrants from around the world set up makeshift camps along Mexico's northern border in hopes of crossing into the United States.

RELATED:

Texas To Deploy Black Hawks to Prevent the Entry of Migrants

They are waiting for the validity of "Title 42" to expire. Enacted in 2020 during the Donald Trump administration, this rule allowed the U.S. authorities expeditiously deport migrants arguing that they represented an epidemiological threat.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said that authorities expect large numbers of arrests in the weeks after Title 42 is lifted on Thursday night.

"We are already seeing high numbers of apprehensions in certain sectors," he said, noting that DHS personnel and facilities as well as border communities are under incredible pressure.

On Wednesday, Washington enacted a new anti-immigrant regulation that replaces Title 42 and restricts access to asylum at the border with Mexico.

The new norm defines that migrants will not be "eligible" to request asylum if they crossed the border irregularly and did not request protection in a third country during their journey to the United States. 

According to Mayorkas, human smugglers are spreading false information and claiming that the U.S.-Mexico border will be open after May 11. For this reason, DHS launched a digital advertising campaign to provide accurate information on U.S. immigration laws.

"DHS is adding more than 24,000 law-enforcement personnel and 1,100 new Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) processing coordinators, which is double the number from last year. About 1,500 active-duty troops have been called to the border to assist CBP in an administrative capacity," the Time Magazine reported.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden's administration announced that a first group of 550 troops arrived near El Paso, Texas, to support immigration enforcement.