Title 42, the Trump-era policy used to manage the border crisis by allowing the rapid deportation of illegal migrants from the United States, reached its expiration date on Thursday.
In anticipation of this expiration, tens of thousands of migrants began crossing into Mexico in hopes of finding asylum in the United States.
The unfolding crisis is quickly turning into one of the largest waves of migrants America’s southern frontier has ever seen.
MIGRANTS AWAIT THE END OF TITLE 42, SETTLING TENT CITIES ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER
On Tuesday, President Biden said he expected the border crisis to be “chaotic for some time.”
EL PASO BORDER SHELTERS ALREADY “EXCEEDED” BEFORE END OF TITLE 42
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded about 10,000 migrant encounters per day in the days before Title 42 expired, but that number is expected to rise.
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The Border Patrol chief released a memo saying officers would begin releasing migrants to America without a court date if the border was overwhelmed.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Aubrie Spady is a freelance production assistant for Fox News Digital.