Less than 24 hours after the rules known as Title 42 were lifted, migrants and government officials were still assessing the effect of the change and the new regulations adopted by President Joe Biden’s administration to stabilize the region.
“We did not see any substantial increase in immigration this morning,” said Blas Nunez-Neto of the Department of Homeland Security. He said the agency did not yet have specific numbers.
A girl looks on Friday as others reach through a border wall for clothing handed out by volunteers, while they wait between two border walls to apply for asylum in San Diego.
Migrants along the border continued to take their chances getting into the U.S., defying officials shouting for them to turn back. Others hunched over cellphones trying to access the appointment app that is a centerpiece of the new measures. Migrants with appointments walked across a bridge hoping for a new life. Lawsuits sought to stop some of the measures.
The Biden administration said the new system is designed to crack down on illegal crossings and to offer a new legal pathway for migrants.
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Migrants are now essentially barred from seeking asylum in the U.S. if they did not first apply online or seek protection in the countries they traveled through. Families allowed in as their immigration cases progress will face curfews and GPS monitoring.
Across the river from El Paso in Ciudad Juárez, migrants watched their cellphones in hopes of getting a coveted appointment to seek entry. Nearby, other migrants were charging their phones on a lamppost to try to get an appointment. Most were resigned to wait.
A man stands Friday in a camp set up by migrants on the bank of the Rio Grande River as he waits his turn, organized by an organization, to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in Matamoros, Mexico.
“I hope it’s a little better and that the appointments are streamlined a little more,” said Yeremy Depablos, 21, a Venezuelan traveling with seven cousins who has been waiting in the city for a month.
Fearing deportation, Depablos did not want to cross illegally. “We have to do it the legal way.”
The legal pathways touted by the administration consist of a program that permits up to 30,000 people a month from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter if they apply online with a financial sponsor and enter through an airport.
About 100 processing centers will open in Guatemala, Colombia and elsewhere for migrants to apply to go to the U.S., Spain or Canada. Up to 1,000 can enter daily through land crossings with Mexico if they snag an appointment on the app.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and U.S. President Joe Biden shake hands Friday as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
Biden commended Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for his country’s collaboration to establish the migration hubs. The two leaders sat down Friday at the White House for wide-ranging talks on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, climate change and other issues.
The Biden administration argues that the current migration quandary facing the Americas is a global problem that needs a global solution — much like refugee crises that impacted Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine in recent years.
“Spain and the U.S., we have common interests about democracy, prosperity and safe, regular and orderly migration patterns,” Sánchez said.
The new system could fundamentally alter how migrants come to the southern border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Police monitor migrants from a group of 50, chosen by the Mexican Casa Migrante organization, as they walk Friday across the Puerto Nuevo bridge from Matamoros, Mexico, to be processed by U.S. immigration officials.
Biden, who is running for reelection, faces criticism from migrant advocates, who say he’s abandoning more humanitarian methods, and from Republicans, who claim he’s soft on border security.
Melissa López, executive director for diocesan migrant and refugee services at El Paso said the streets were calm Friday, with few migrants present. She said many migrants told her they are willing to follow the pathway created by the federal government, but there is fear about deportation and possible criminal penalties for people who cross the border illegally.
The lull comes after large numbers of migrants crossed the border in hopes of being allowed to stay in the U.S. before the Title 42 restrictions expired.
U.S. Border Patrol agents direct a group of migrants that were waiting to apply for asylum between two border walls Friday in San Diego.
Hundreds of migrants, mostly families, sat in two dozen rows between the border walls between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, as Border Patrol agents selected who would be allowed to be processed. When some got up with them, those left behind cheered.
Title 42, in place since March 2020, allowed border officials to quickly return asylum seekers back over the border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. declared the national emergency over, ending the restrictions.
Title 42 carried no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts. After Thursday, migrants face being barred from entering the U.S. for five years and possible criminal prosecution.
Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said Friday in a tweet that the agency apprehended 67,759 people in the last week. That averages out to 9,679 per day — nearly twice the average daily level of 5,200 from March.
It’s slightly below the 11,000 figure that authorities said was the upper limit of what they expected after Title 42 end, but it wasn’t clear where numbers peaked before Title 42 expired Thursday night.
A woman holds up her wristband Friday to show U.S. Border Patrol agents she and her daughter have been waiting the longest between two border walls to apply for asylum in San Diego.
Border holding facilities were already far beyond capacity. Officials had orders to release people with a notice to report to an immigration office in 60 days if facilities reached 125% capacity or when they were held 60 hours or more. The quick releases were also to be triggered when authorities stopped 7,000 migrants along the border in a day.
Late Thursday, a federal judge temporarily halted the administration’s plans to release people into the U.S., and set a court date on whether to extend the ruling.
Other parts of the administration’s immigration plan were also in legal peril.
Advocacy groups sued the administration on its new asylum rules minutes before they took effect, alleging the new policy is no different than one adopted by former President Donald Trump, which a court rejected.
Photos: Migrants rush across US border in final hours before pandemic rule expires
A Texas National Guardsman stands along a stretch of razor wire as migrants try to cross into the U.S., on the banks of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Members of the Texas National Guard prepare to deploy to the Texas-Mexico border in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 8, 2023. The Title 42 policy, a federal rule that has allowed the government to strictly regulate border entries, is set to expire this week. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants pass through razor wire on the bank of the Rio Grande river where Texas National Guards verbally tell them not to cross, as migrants enter the U.S. to turn themselves into immigration authorities, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants stand on the bank of the Rio Grande river as Texas National Guards block them from behind razor wire, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Venezuelan migrants take a break during their walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama, in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Migrants walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Texas National Guard soldiers tie rows of barbed-wire to be installed near a gate in the border fence in El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A man from Colombia uses metallic fabric to keep his feet warm as he waits to apply for asylum after crossing the border from Mexico on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, marking a fundamental shift in immigration policy as the U.S. readies for the end of a key pandemic restriction. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A migrant from Colombia, center, gives a blanket to a father and son, also from Colombia, as the group waits to apply for asylum after crossing the border Wednesday, May 10, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. The group have been camping just across the border for days, waiting to apply for asylum in the United States. As members of the group get to the front of the line to be escorted into vans, they hand off all warm clothing to those who might still have to camp overnight. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S., seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants wait for U.S. authorities, between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence under the watch of the Border Patrol and Texas National Guard to enter into El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released Wednesday, as U.S. officials warned of difficult days ahead as a key limit on immigration is set to expire.(AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Asylum-seekers wait between the double fence on U.S. soil along the U.S.-Mexico border near Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, May 8, 2023, in San Diego. The migrants wait between the fences to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Asylum-seekers wait between the double fence on U.S. soil along the U.S.-Mexico border near Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, May 8, 2023, in San Diego. The migrants wait between the fences to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Members of the Texas National Guard prepare to deploy to the Texas-Mexico border in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 8, 2023. The Title 42 policy, a federal rule that has allowed the government to strictly regulate border entries, is set to expire this week. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - Migrants that were trying to evade U.S. Border Patrol agents, wait to be processed in Granjeno, Texas, early Thursday, May 4, 2023. A recent surge of migrants in the Brownsville area of the U.S.-Mexico border is highlighting immigration challenges as the U.S. prepares for the end of a policy linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants. (AP Photo/Veronica G. Cardenas, File)
Migrants from El Salvador cross the Rio Grande river to the U.S. side, from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Texas National Guards stand guard on the bank of the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A couple of migrants watch as the Texas National Guard add more rows of barbed-wire around a gate in the border fence into El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants sit under a sign marking the Panama-Colombia border during their trek across the Darien Gap, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
A Venezuelan migrant buys an energy drink at a stall set up along the route of the Darien Gap, from Colombia into Panama, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Migrants gather to start the walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S., at the trailhead camp in Acandi, Colombia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Migrants arrive at a gate in the border fence after crossing from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico into El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants wait for U.S. authorities, between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Wheelchair-bound Colombian migrant Mireya Payares is helped by another migrant to cross the Rio Grande river from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Payares is part of a family group of nine Colombian migrants who are traveling together from Bucaramanga, Colombia, since February 19, 2023, to reach the United States. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants walk up the bank on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande river, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A migrant crosses the Rio Grande river with a baby in a suitcase, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S. on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released on May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Venezuelan migrant Luis Parra, third right, joins other migrants crossing the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Parra and his niece Leidy Arriza arrived at the border after staying overnight in the Mexican city of Monterrey. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants use plastic bottles as floatation devices to cross the Rio Bravo river into the United States from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S. on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released on May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Texas National Guardsmen stand along a stretch of razor wire as a migrant woman carrying a child tries to cross into the U.S, on the banks of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants walk toward immigration authorities to turn themselves in as they make their way past Texas National Guardsmen, on the bank of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande to the U.S. side, from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
An official interviews a migrant who was deported from the United States upon his arrival on a chartered plane, at the airport in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Colombian migration authority said 209 Colombians were flown on a charted flight from the U.S.- Mexico border. (AP Photo/John Vizcaino)
Yised Marulanda cries after arriving with other Colombia migrants deported from the United States, at the airport in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Colombian migration authority said 209 Colombians were flown on a charted flight from the U.S.- Mexico border. (AP Photo/John Vizcaino)
A migrant gestures to Texas National Guards standing behind razor wire on the bank of the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A young migrant holding swimming inner tubes stands on the Mexican-side of the Rio Grande river, from where migrants swim across to the U.S. side, in Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Venezuelan migrants take a break during their walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama, in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Texas National Guardsmen reinforce a stretch of razor wire as migrants try to cross into the U.S., on the banks of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A young migrant swims across the Rio Grande river to the U.S. from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through , according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Bravo on an inflatable mattress into the United States from Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants walk through a barbed-wire barrier into the United States after crossing the Rio Bravo from Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants cross a barbed-wire barrier into the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants line-up between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants camp at a makeshift shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Moto taxis transport migrants to Las Tecas camp from where they will start walking across the Darien gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the US, in Acandi, Colombia, Monday, May 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Venezuelan migrant Rowil Espinoza, 34, carries his son Calel on the bank of the Rio Grande river, planning to cross to the U.S., from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Espinoza said he is traveling with his wife and three children. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Texas state police finish placing barbed-wire as migrants walk up the bank of the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
