Title 42 expiration – latest: Child migrant dies in US custody as Biden under fire over immigration policy

Migrants who are crossing the Rio Grande River to reach the US border through Mexico may be warned in the coming days to keep an eye on rainfall.

The journey from Mexico to the US is a dangerous one, and notoriously crossing the Rio Grande can be one of the most perilous parts of the trip.

As the US sees a surge in the number of migrants due to the end of Title 42, some are warning asylum seekers to keep an eye on the weather - more rainfall could mean flooding or increased water levels making the Rio Grande more dangerous.

A Homeland Security official told CNN that as of Friday afternoon, approximately 23,400 migrants were in Border Patrol custody.

The number is slightly lower than it was earlier in the week.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is weakening a decades-old right-to-shelter mandate to prepare for thousands of newly arrived people in the US after the expiration of a Trump-era policy that blocked hundreds of thousands of migrants from entering the country.

The mayor’s executive order suspends a rule that guarantees shelter for families with children if requested by 10pm, and it suspends a rule that prohibits families from living in group settings. The city and state anticipate hundreds of daily arrivals with the end of Title 42, which expires at midnight on 11 May.

Alex Woodward reports:

Hours before Title 42 expired on Thursday evening, the House of Representatives passed a bill

HR 2, known as “Secure the Border Act” would restart border wall construction and force asylum seekers to remain in Mexico until their court date - both highly controversial and widely disputed policies.

The bill passed 219-213 in the Republican-majority House but will likely not pass in the Senate. The White House also indicated it would veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) along with several other organisations filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration, claiming the rule that limits asylum seekers is too restrictive and mimics Trump-era immigration rules.

The lawsuit was filed shortly after midnight on 12 May as Title 42 expired.

“The Biden administration’s new ban places vulnerable asylum seekers in grave danger and violates US asylum laws,” Katrina Eiland, managing attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project said in a press release.

“We’ve been down this road before with Trump. The asylum bans were cruel and illegal then, and nothing has changed now,” Ms Eiland added.

Under President Joe Biden’s new rule, people seeking asylum at the border who are from countries other than Mexico are ineligible unless they have obtained a rare appointment or already attempted to obtain asylum in another country first.

Melissa Crow, director of litigation for the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies said, “People feeling persecution have a legal right to seek asylum, no matter how they reach the border.”

Friday was less chaotic than some officials had anticipated after the midnight expiration of Title 42, as the Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy Blas Nuñez told CNN there was no “substantial increase overnight or an influx at midnight” of migrants.

An unaccompanied migrant child died while in the custody of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the White House confirmed on Friday.

In a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House was “aware of the tragic loss” and President Joe Biden had been briefed on it.

Ariana Baio reports:

Representatives and Senators from New York co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday asking that the administration ease delays for migrants to receive work authorisations.

“We write to urge the administration to ease the undue delays in granting work authorizations to asylum seekers,” the letter begins.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, asylum seekers must wait a minimum of 180 days since their asylum application has been filed to be granted work authorisation.

Additionally, asylum seekers can only apply for work authorisation 150 days after submitting their asylum application and then wait another 30 days to receive employment authorisation documents.

“That means that, for roughly six months after submitting the application, asylum seekers cannot provide for themselves or their families,” the letter says.

“We ask that your administration support the many states, cities, and communities enthusiastically welcoming asylum seekers across this country by increasing the use of parole and decreasing the regulatory 150-day wait period for asylum seekers to apply for work authorization.”

The letter was signed be Senators Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerrold Nadler, Grace Meng, Hakeem Jeffries, Nydia Velazquez, Jamaal Bowman, Yvette Clarke, Daniel Goldman, Adriano Espaillat, Ritchie Torres and Gregory Meeks.