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MEXICO CITY—After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to keep pandemic-era border controls in place for now, thousands of migrants who amassed at the Mexico-U. S. border are weighing whether to wait or attempt to cross the border and illegally enter the U.S.
The migrants, many from Mexico and Central America but also from Venezuela and Cuba, including many families, traveled to the border in recent days anticipating the end of Title 42 regulations, by which border crossers can be expelled immediately to Mexico or their countries of origin with no chance of requesting asylum. After the court’s ruling, the policy will remain in place at least until February.
“U. S. migration policy is very variable. The migrant doesn’t know what to think, or how to react,” said
Román Domínguez,
an evangelical pastor who runs the Oasis del Migrante shelter in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas. “They came here with the idea of requesting asylum.”
El Paso has been the site of a surge in migrant crossings, which prompted Texas Gov.
Greg Abbott
to deploy Texas National Guard personnel to the border.
The Texas National Guard was stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday.
Photo:
justin hamel/Shutterstock
Title 42, implemented under the Trump administration at the outset of the pandemic, had been set to expire on Dec. 21. But Supreme Court Chief Justice
John Roberts
issued a stay two days earlier at the request of 19 Republican states, which argued that the measure was still needed to avoid a major crisis at the border.
The Supreme Court decision Tuesday that will keep Title 42 in place for now was met with disappointment and resignation by many migrants, said
Héctor Silva,
another pastor who runs a migrant shelter in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Mr. Silva said Reynosa’s two migrant shelters are overwhelmed, and they are now attending to around 4,000 people.
“There were a lot of moans and cries after they learned about the decision,” he said. “Their happy faces turned sad.”
Many migrants seem determined to wait several weeks more in Mexico with the prospect that Title 42 will end soon. Most left their countries fleeing poverty, violence and political repression.
Migrants from Venezuela and elsewhere, at a campfire near the border.
Photo:
JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ/REUTERS
“If we have to wait more time, we’ll wait, we don’t have anything to lose,” said
Micaela Flores,
a 34-year-old Honduran woman who arrived in Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, earlier this month with her two children. “God willing, we can all make it into the U.S. soon.”
Dozens of migrants, exasperated by the wait, have tried to cross the border illegally in recent days, she said.
Under Title 42, there have been more than 2.5 million expulsions since 2020 of migrants who illegally crossed the border. The expulsions aren’t considered immigration enforcement actions and leave no immigration records, which has led many migrants to attempt multiple crossings.
The director for North America at Mexico’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately reply to calls seeking comment on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
In Tijuana, opposite San Diego, Calif., authorities estimate there are some 9,000 migrants in shelters and private homes waiting for an opportunity to request asylum in the U.S. when Title 42 is lifted.
“The migrant community was already frustrated on Dec. 21, so with a new date we don’t expect an immediate reaction,” said
Enrique Lucero,
director for migrant attention at the Tijuana city government.
Migrants at a makeshift camp in Matamoros, Mexico, near the U.S. border lined up for hot drinks and food provided by volunteers.
Photo:
Fernando Llano/Associated Press
He said there could be some who risk their lives attempting to jump the border wall or swim to the U.S. from Tijuana beaches.
Mr. Domínguez said that shelters in Ciudad Juárez are full, and with the decision delaying the end of Title 42, many more migrants will have to seek refuge.
“We’re going to have a lot of work these days because a lot of people are coming, and many who were on the streets will have to look for a shelter,” he said.
Ciudad Júarez Mayor
Cruz Pérez Cuellar
said last week that there were some 20,000 migrants in the city.
In Matamoros, some 4,000 asylum seekers are camped along the border in tents. Local authorities said that after seeking shelter at a gym on Christmas Eve, when temperatures fell below freezing, many had returned to the border line Tuesday in the hope that Title 42 would be lifted.
Jose Aguilera, 22, a Venezuelan migrant in Ciudad Juârez, Mexico, and one of thousands of people who traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks.
Photo:
JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ/REUTERS
Write to Juan Montes at juan.montes@wsj.com and Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
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