By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. will finalize by May 11 a new regulation that will deny asylum to many migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Friday.
Under the new regulation, migrants will be presumed ineligible for asylum if they passed through another country en route to the U.S. without seeking protection or if they failed to use other legal pathways to the United States.
The measure is a key part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s plan to address an expected rise in illegal immigration when COVID restrictions known as Title 42 end next week, along with the broader pandemic public health emergency.
Title 42 was first implemented in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic to stem the spread of the coronavirus in crowded detention settings. It allows border agents to rapidly expel many migrants to Mexico.
Its repeal is expected to lead to a rise in border arrivals as a result of pent-up demand and the perception among migrants that they will be allowed in.
The anticipated increase in border crossings will be “extremely challenging,” Mayorkas said during a press conference in Brownsville, Texas.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and Rosalba O’Brien)
