Tens of thousands migrants wait at U.S. border for asylum limits to end
The Hindu
Migrants along the U.S. border with Mexico sought shelter as Title 42 remains in place beyond the anticipated end
EL Paso, Texas
Migrants along the U.S. border with Mexico sought shelter from the cold early on 21 December as restrictions that prevented many from seeking asylum in the U.S. remained in place beyond their anticipated end.
The U.S. government asked the Supreme Court on 20 December not to lift the limits before Christmas, in a filing a day after Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary order to keep the pandemic-era restrictions in place. Before Roberts issued that order, they had been slated to expire on 21 December.
Just after midnight, when Title 42 was supposed to be lifted, all was quiet on the banks of Rio Grande in El Paso where the Texas National Guard was posted. Hundreds of migrants had gathered by the concertina wire put up by the Texas National Guard but left earlier in the evening after being told by US officials to go to a gate to be processed in small groups.
First Sergeant Suzanne Ringle said one woman went into labor in the crowd on the riverbank and was assisted by Border Patrol agents. She added many children were among the crowd.
In the Mexican city of Juarez, across the border from El Paso, hundreds of migrants remained in line hoping that the restrictions would be lifted and they would be let through.
In Tijuana, which has an estimated 5,000 migrants staying in more than 30 shelters and many more renting rooms and apartments, the border was quiet on 20 December night as word spread among would-be asylum seekers that nothing had changed. Layered, razor-topped walls rising 30 feet along the border with San Diego make the area daunting for illegal crossings.