AP PHOTOS: Migrants attempt to cross into the U.S. before Title 42 ends

11 May 2023 at 6:24 pm·1-min read

Asylum-seekers wait between the double fence on U.S. soil along the U.S.-Mexico border near Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, May 8, 2023, in San Diego. The migrants wait between the fences to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Members of the Texas National Guard prepare to deploy to the Texas-Mexico border in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 8, 2023. The Title 42 policy, a federal rule that has allowed the government to strictly regulate border entries, is set to expire this week. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Migrants wait for U.S. authorities, between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence under the watch of the Border Patrol and Texas National Guard to enter into El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released Wednesday, as U.S. officials warned of difficult days ahead as a key limit on immigration is set to expire.(AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Texas National Guard soldiers tie rows of barbed-wire to be installed near a gate in the border fence in El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

A shackled migrant smiles while transported by bus to board a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement repatriation flight to Guatemala in El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released Wednesday, as U.S. officials warned of difficult days ahead as a key limit on immigration is set to expire. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S., seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Migrants stand on the bank of the Rio Grande river as Texas National Guards block them from behind razor wire, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Migrants pass through razor wire on the bank of the Rio Grande river where Texas National Guards verbally tell them not to cross, as migrants enter the U.S. to turn themselves into immigration authorities, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Migrants cross the Rio Grande to the U.S. side, from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Migrants wade across a river during as they trek across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama, in hopes of reaching the U.S., Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

A migrant from Colombia, center, gives a blanket to a father and son, also from Colombia, as the group waits to apply for asylum after crossing the border Wednesday, May 10, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. The group have been camping just across the border for days, waiting to apply for asylum in the United States. As members of the group get to the front of the line to be escorted into vans, they hand off all warm clothing to those who might still have to camp overnight. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A group of migrants sleep in a makeshift campsite as they wait to apply for asylum after crossing the border, Wednesday, May 10, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. The group have been camping just across the border for days, waiting to apply for asylum in the United States. The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, marking a fundamental shift in immigration policy as the U.S. readies for the end of a key pandemic restriction. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A man from Colombia uses metallic fabric to keep his feet warm as he waits to apply for asylum after crossing the border from Mexico on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, marking a fundamental shift in immigration policy as the U.S. readies for the end of a key pandemic restriction. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

FILE - Migrants that were trying to evade U.S. Border Patrol agents, wait to be processed in Granjeno, Texas, early Thursday, May 4, 2023. A recent surge of migrants in the Brownsville area of the U.S.-Mexico border is highlighting immigration challenges as the U.S. prepares for the end of a policy linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants. (AP Photo/Veronica G. Cardenas, File)

Venezuelan migrants take a break during their walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama, in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Migrants walk up the bank on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande river, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A Texas National Guardsman stands along a stretch of razor wire as migrants try to cross into the U.S., on the banks of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Migrants walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

A migrant couple struggles while carrying their baby as they approach a gate in the border fence after crossing from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico into El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Texas National Guard soldiers carry a barbed-wire to be installed near a gate at the border fence in El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Migrants arrive at a gate in the border fence after crossing from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico into El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Clasping exhausted children, desperate migrants tried to make their way to the United States Thursday before the end of the pandemic-era health rule known as Title 42.

In Texas, members of the National Guard were deployed to the Mexico border as part of their state's response to the rush, bearing guns as migrants came with dozing children, and clothes soaked by crossing the Rio Grande.

Moving between border fences festooned with razor wire, the migrants sheltered from the grueling sun beneath sheets of white cloth.

One shackled migrant smiled as he was taken by bus to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement repatriation flight to Guatemala. Nearby, members of the Texas National Guards unfurled more wire.

Outside Matamoros, Mexico, migrants stood on the bank of the Rio Grande, blocked from entering the U.S.

The migrants from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and nations in Central America, among others, were driven by fear that it could be harder for them to stay on U.S. soil once the restrictions are lifted.

One migrant from Colombia gave a blanket to a father and son, also from Colombia. The group had been camping just across from California for days, waiting to apply for asylum.