Tens of thousands of immigrants are expected to try to enter the US in the next few days after the Covid-19 immigration policy known as Title 42 expired late Thursday. The policy allowed for rapid deportation of immigrants for public health reasons.
Most migrants crossing the border are adults traveling alone. Others travel in large or small family groups, carrying children and whatever belongings they may have. They muscle across rivers, lift each other through challenging terrain and often rely on the generosity of community groups for food and water.
New York Times photographers document the experience on both sides of the border, from Tijuana on the West Coast to Matamoros near the Gulf of Mexico.
Thursday, May 11
Yuma, Ariz.
Migrants are processed by US Border Patrol agents at dawn.
Immigrants wait in line to be processed by the Border Patrol.
Wednesday, May 10
Tijuana, Mexico
Migrants huddled near the border fence to buy food ordered through delivery apps as they waited for the next leg of their journey.
San Diego, Calif.
Migrants are sorted by US authorities. Some waited in one place for days.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico
Many migrants traveled across Mexico on freight trains.
El Paso, Texas
The men, who had previously entered the United States, waited on a bus at El Paso International Airport to board a deportation flight.
People boarded a jet plane to be deported back to Guatemala.
Brownsville, Texas
The emigrants rushed to reach places on the north bank of the Rio Grande before American soldiers could finish erecting concertina fences to block their access.
Immigrants processed at the border wash a vehicle in hopes of paying for bus tickets to cross into the United States.
Eagle Pass, Texas
As the asylum seekers crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico, National Guardsmen waited on the riverbank on the American side.
After crossing the river, the emigrants followed a path up the river into the American border.
Tuesday, May 9
Matamoros, Mexico
Maritza Carrizo, an asylum seeker from Barinas, Venezuela, sits on a bed in a migrant shelter. She and several relatives had appointments to cross the border the next day to claim asylum.
By 10 a.m., dozens of other migrants were trying to book asylum appointments using the Border Patrol’s smartphone app. Most of the newly available appointment times were taken within five minutes, they said.
Colonists lined up for lunch at the shelter.
El Paso, Texas
Caroline Paz Majares, a Venezuelan immigrant, cried out for immigrants to be allowed to stay on American soil.
A Texas Army National Guardsman spoke with a migrant about plans to build a fence around an area near Gate 40 of the border wall, where migrants who crossed the river wait to turn themselves in. More migrants turn themselves in than border gates – to official ports of entry such as international airports, road and rail crossings, and major seaports.
A Venezuelan immigrant shields himself from the sun with his passport as he waits in line to be processed by US border officials.
Monday, May 8
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico
Migrants made their way to the border in open cargo cars across arid terrain.
Venezuelan migrants who came north on a freight train crossed the border hours after disembarking.
Ruben Soto, OK, an immigrant from Venezuela, along with Rosa Bello, a Honduran immigrant, were traveling in a cargo car. They traveled together after meeting in Chiapas.
El Paso, Texas
Immigrants passed through the gap in the concertina wire at the US border. Some carried food and water supplies by boat.
Crowds of migrants gathered near the border fence and turned themselves into border guards to process them.
About 200 members of the Texas National Guard were flown to El Paso to provide assistance along the border.
Sunday, May 7
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico
Venezuelan migrants climb between hopper cars on a freight train as they try to cross the border.
