MATAMOROS, Mexico—Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the United States in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted—a change that many feared could make it more difficult for them to stay.
With a midnight deadline looming, migrants in Mexico shed clothing before descending a steep bank into the Rio Grande.
On the U.S. side of the river, migrants put on dry clothing and picked their way through concertina wire. Many surrendered immediately to authorities and hoped to be released while pursuing their cases in backlogged immigration courts, which takes years.
President Joe Biden’s administration has been unveiling strict new measures to replace the restrictions known as Title 42. The outgoing rules have allowed border officials since March 2020 to quickly return asylum seekers back over the border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19….