US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned people gathered at the US-Mexico border not to cross at a White House news conference Thursday. His speech came as the deadline for the Title 42 immigration order was about to expire. Title 42 was a strict immigration regulation ostensibly intended to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. Addressing the journalists, he said: “People who cross our border illegally and without a legal basis to stay will be immediately prosecuted and expelled.”
His statement came as hundreds of people thronged at US border entry points. Mayorkas added that immigration authorities expect to “see a large number of encounters” and “are already seeing a large number of encounters in certain sectors.”