Tens of thousands of migrants are expected to try to enter the United States in the coming days as the coronavirus-era immigration policy, known as Title 42, expires late Thursday. This policy allowed the rapid deportation of immigrants on public health grounds.
Most people crossing the border are adults traveling alone. Others travel in large and small family groups, carrying their children and carry-on items and belongings. Together they cross rivers, lift each other up over difficult terrain, and often rely on the generosity of community groups for food and water.
New York Times photographers document experiences on both sides of the border, from Tijuana on the West Coast to Matamoros near the Gulf of Mexico.
Thursday, May 11th
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Migrants stand near border guards waiting to be processed.
Eagle Pass, Texas
Immigrants cross the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico and wait for Border Patrol clearance.
Yuma, Arizona
A group of immigrants from Peru wail as they arrive in the US minutes before their Title 42 expires.
Sunland Park, New Mexico
Shortly after a Title 42 expires, border guards detain people for processing.
El Paso, Texas
A migrant who surrendered at the Mexican-US border is detained at Gate 42 in El Paso.
In the hours leading up to the end of Title 42, border agents search for a group of immigrants who recently crossed the border into Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Elwyn Gómez, from Venezuela, was not deported and was sent to hospital last week after climbing a border fence and falling, breaking his wrist. He is staying at the Annunciation House shelter in El Paso.
Immigrants line up to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at a makeshift camp just north of the Rio Grande River in El Paso.
Tijuana, Mexico
Some of the migrants had been in the same place for days, awaiting processing by US authorities.
San Diego, California
Immigrants sit between two fences in an area known as “limb” or “no man’s land,” waiting for an appointment with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mexico, Reynosa
Osiris Yamirez Ochoa Nunez, age 20, left. Her husband is Elvis Josue Codera, 27 years old. Her 8-month-old daughter spent time selling gum near the official port of entry into the United States.
Matamoros, Mexico
Thousands of immigrants awaiting appointment for asylum under Article 42 in Mexico live in squalid conditions along the south bank of the Rio Grande.
Yuma, Arizona
A cell phone charging station at the Border Health Community Center in Somerton, a suburb of Yuma. Where immigrants released by Border Patrol are taken to help buy airline tickets.
A group of at least 500 migrants from around the world, including Peru, Brazil, Ghana and Thailand, began crossing the border near Yuma, Arizona early Thursday morning in the dark.
Wednesday, May 10
Tijuana, Mexico
People gathered near the border fence, bought food ordered through delivery apps, and waited for their next journey.
San Diego, California
In San Diego, some people waited in the same place for days. State officials worry that the massive surge in immigration could overwhelm homeless shelters and hospitals not just in the city but across California.
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Across the border from El Paso, Texas, so many immigrants have fallen, maimed or died, on a freight train so dangerous that it is known as the “Beast” or “Death Train”. More and more people are arriving by car.
El Paso, Texas
The men, who had previously entered the United States, waited on a bus to board their deportation flight at El Paso International Airport.
People deported to Guatemala boarded jets in El Paso.
brownsville, texas
The migrants rushed to the north bank of the Rio Grande before the National Guard finished installing corrugated wires to cut off access.
Those who were processed at the border washed their cars to get bus tickets to continue on to the United States.
Eagle Pass, Texas
They crossed the Rio Grande in droves from Mexico while the National Guard waited on the U.S. side of the river.
After crossing the river, they followed the road from the riverbank to US territory.
Tuesday, May 9
Matamoros, Mexico
Maritza Cariso, an asylum seeker from Barinas, Venezuela, sat in a bunk bed at an immigration shelter. She and several of her relatives had promised to cross the border the next day to apply for her asylum.
At 10am, dozens of people tried to book asylum using the Customs and Border Protection smartphone app. Most of the new booking times were within five minutes.
At a local shelter, people lined up for food.
El Paso, Texas
Caroline Paz Mahares, a Venezuelan immigrant, cried when she heard that migrants awaiting surrender to Border Patrol in El Paso would be allowed to stay in the mainland United States.
Members of the Texas Army National Guard spoke with immigrants about plans to fence an area near Gate 40 on the border wall where people who crossed the river were waiting to appear.
A Venezuelan woman shielded herself from the sun with her passport while waiting in line to be processed by a US border agent.
Monday, May 8th
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
The immigrants rode in open wagons across the arid land towards the border. The metal walls of the train were too cold to sleep at night, and hot to the touch during the day.
Venezuelans who came north by freight train crossed the border hours later.
Ruben Soto from Venezuela (right) and Rosa Bello from Honduras ride a freight train.
El Paso, Texas
Immigrants crossed through gaps in the corrugated barbed wire on the US side of the border. Some carried food and water.
Crowds gathered near the El Paso border fence and turned themselves in to Border Patrol for processing.
About 200 Texas National Guard personnel flew to El Paso to assist along the border.
Sunday 7th May
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Venezuelan migrants climbed between freight train hopper cars, hoping to make their way to the border.
