Confusion at US-Mexico border as Title 42 migrant restrictions expire | ITV News

Just as it is in Westminster, tackling illegal immigration is a hot political issue in Washington. Now, on the border between the US and Mexico, around 60,000 people are waiting to cross north. The swelling crowds the result of a changing policy creating a new headache for President Biden in a long-running crisis. While the COVID era border policy introduced by Donald Trump, known as Title 42, expired overnight aimed at stopping new infections of the virus. It allowed the US to swiftly deport any new arrivals without an asylum hearing. Now, just like in 2016 when Donald Trump's promise to build a border wall helped propel him to the White House, immigration is sure to be at the heart of next year's presidential election. The United States was built on immigration, yet here the huddled masses yearning to breathe free are finding America's promise of liberty remains walled off.

The rules of the immigration game are changing, but the dream of a new life endures. Each person has a story of hardship, each views this border as salvation. This family is too scared to be identified, having fled death threats from Marxist rebels in Colombia. The mother, who is a nurse, was kidnapped, tortured and given two days to leave the country. Her husband sums up their dilemma. Better to risk our lives here, he says, than stay there and wait for them to kill us. As they cross the Rio Grande, they enter a no-mans land, the wrong side of the wall, but technically a few footsteps into the United States.

This man says it's tough, there are too many armed groups in Colombia. He's been stuck by the wall for six days. A Trump era rule called Title 42 meant migrants were summarily turned back unless they had a clear asylum claim. Now that's been scrapped, replaced with more complex rules, meaning migrants have to lodge their case online before they get here on an app most can't access. There's jubilation, as the first handful of migrants are admitted through Gate 42, hours before Title 42 is scrapped. Most have travelled for months or years to reach this point, but now they must dump everything they own before they are processed. They hope this is a short walk to freedom, but some are already cuffed as they cross to the American side, and they know they might not be here for long.

For those on the other side, this isn't just a gap in the fence, it represents a gateway to a new life. Those crossing from today face complex new rules which one can't be stopped. They will be immediately deported back where they came from. Outside the church of the Sacred Heart in El Paso, migrants' faith in the system is already being tested. They got in before the rule change, but now must wait years for their cases to be heard. Dian says he left economic collapse in Venezuela in 2016. It's taken him since then to walk and hitch through half a dozen countries.

Like most here, his stomach and pockets are empty. He says a change in the law doesn't matter if you haven't had anything for breakfast. Most migrants are confused by the new rules. Those helping them think the repeated changes haven't helped. We've had a series of policies that have intentionally kept people outside of the United States, and so they've created this quote unquote crisis in a lot of ways. And so my hope is by returning to the policies of before that we won't see these huge backlogs of people that are just stuck trying to enter the country. Some Republicans think tougher rules should be put in place to stop what they feel is a migrant invasion.

Some Democrats might prefer a kinder immigration system, but what is clear is the border is under pressure like never before. Facing vast numbers who believe beyond this wall lies the American dream. Damn Rivers News at 10 El Paso.