Hundreds Stuck As US Changes Migrant Rules Overnight

The White House warned that beginning Friday, anyone entering the United States illicitly will face a lengthy ban and possible criminal charges.
Washington: Pandemic-era controls barring migrants from claiming US asylum expire Thursday night amid fears of chaos at the Mexican border, with a tough new policy spelling uncertainty for thousands seeking refuge in America. Migrants, mostly from the Americas but some from as far away as Asia, were present on both sides of the frontier as US troops arrived to handle an expected surge of people seeking to cross over. The White House warned that beginning Friday, anyone entering the United States illicitly will face a lengthy ban and possible criminal charges.
"Our borders are not open," said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. At the border some made last-minute attempts to ford the narrow but fast-moving Rio Grande River near Brownsville, Texas, aspiring they might simply be released into the United States after turning themselves into the Border Patrol. "I hope to be able to stay in this country," said 29-year-old Ecuadoran Jimmy Munoz, just after climbing onto US soil. "But I have doubts and fears that they will let me." Families were split in the confusion: Patricia Vargas from Venezuela wept as she sat at the bus station in Brownsville, where hundreds of migrants awaited the chance for transportation onward. Her son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren failed to make the crossing.