Border Patrol apprehends 10,000 migrants in a day, breaking records

More than 10,000 undocumented migrants were apprehended by Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border in 24 hours, breaking the record for the most apprehensions in a single day ahead of the end of the pandemic-era immigration policy Title 42.

At least 10,300 migrants were apprehended by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Tuesday and another 10,000 were apprehended on Monday. 

The number of migrant crossings is expected to increase as thousands of migrants after the end of Title 42 on May 11, a Trump-era policy that allows border officials to quickly expel migrants without hearing their asylum cases.

The migrants reportedly believe that they will more likely be admitted into the country than in the two previous years. Officials believe that border agents can encounter up to 14,000 migrants a day. Additionally, thousands of other migrants have been gathering at the Mexican side of the border, waiting for the policy to end.  

To prepare for the end of Title 42, the Biden administration has deployed troops to the border to help with processing and is opening processing centers in Guatemala and Colombia for migrants to apply for asylum and other legal ways to come to the United States. 

On Wednesday, the administration ruled out a new regulation specifying that asylum will only be given to migrants who have applied for asylum if they sought protection elsewhere first or used a legal pathway to enter the U.S. 

The Biden administration is urging migrants to refrain from coming to the border, adding that they will be removed if they attempt to cross. Migrants that do not follow the procedure will be deported and barred from entering the country for five years. 

"We are making it very clear that our border is not open, that crossing irregularly is against the law and that those who are not eligible for relief will be quickly returned," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a press conference in Washington.