live from washington, this is bbc news. the first day of a new era at the us—mexico border. as title 42 expires, we have reports from our correspondents in both countries, with coverage from the ground in el paso. with new immigration rules in place, communities along the borderface an uncertain future. we ask current and former us officials whether the new system will hold. and crossing jungles and riding freight trains, one family's weeks—long journey to the border in search of a better life.

hello. iam i am helena iam helena humphrey, good to have you with us. we start at the border of the united states and mexico, and concerns there will be a surge of migrants following the expiration of title a2. that's the measure put in place three years ago. it was invoked during the trump adminisrtation to slow the spread of covid—19 across the us—mexico border. in doing this, us authorities were allowed to turn away asylum seekers, and while title 42 was in place, around 2.8 million people were expelled, according to us customs and border protection. but with the end of the us's health emergency, title 42 has now also officially expired. a potential surge of migrants to the us—mexico border could strain local communities and the humanitarian challenge. well, us officials said on friday they — quote — "did not see

a substantial increase" in migrant crossings. but many have pointed out that this is only the start of a new reality at the border, not the end. mexico's government is trying to deter migrants from making the treacherous journey, and has ordered the closure of more than 30 temporary processing centres for migrants. mexico's foreign minister has also said his country will only accept a maximum of 1000 deportees a day from the us. well, our reporter angelica casas has more on what the expiry of title 42 means for the border. for the last three years, migrants and asylum seekers trying to reach the us have been in limbo. title 42, a covid—era policy, has kept them mostly on the mexican side of the border, but that policy has now expired, and us officials are bracing for an influx of migrants. 13,000 people coming across the border illegally every single day. so how did the us get here? in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the centres for disease control and

prevention issued an emergency public health order, restricting immigration at us land borders. title 42 enabled authorities to swiftly expel migrants trying to cross into the country illegally, and to block access to asylum in those cases. the policy has been used at least 2.5 million times. donald trump welcomed it as a tool to control immigration. and joe biden defended the policy for more than a year. in april 2022, the cdc sought to lift title 42, citing a diminished health risk. it was blocked by a court challenge — until now. as title 42 ends, republicans accuse president biden of allowing open borders and blame him for the spike in migrant arrivals. the white house says there will be strict penalties for those who cross illegally and asylum seekers will be screened quickly and removed

if they don't qualify. what happens here at the border will determine who wins that political argument. well, the expiration comes as a 17—year—old migrant from honduras, who arrived to the us without a parent or guardian, died in government custody in a shelter in florida. government figures show that more than 8,000 unaccompanied migrant minors are currently under the us department of health and human services�* care with an average custody period of 29 days. the white house spoke about the tragedy this afternoon. it is sad news, deeply saddening to hear, and we're certainly aware of the tragic loss, and our hearts go out to family, and it is, as ijust mentioned, being a mother and celebrating mother's day on sunday, it is very devastating news. there is a medical investigation that was opened on may 10, and i don't want to get ahead of that. we need to let the investigation go through. and so any specific questions, certainly i would have to refer you to hhs.

i haven't spoken to the present about theirs. so i don't have information if he has been briefed on this. but there is a medical investigation that was open on may 10 and we will let that go. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent will grant in mexico city and our north america correspondent sophie long who is in el paso, texas. sophie, i want to start with you because officials haven't seen the numbers that some had been warning about, but what people where you are expecting to see in the coming days and weeks? , ., , , ., weeks? yes, on the streets of el paso, _ weeks? yes, on the streets of el paso, as — weeks? yes, on the streets of el paso, as you _ weeks? yes, on the streets of el paso, as you can _ weeks? yes, on the streets of el paso, as you can publicity l el paso, as you can publicity behind me, it is quiet and calm. we have heard from the mayor of el paso who says that the transition from one set of restrictions of the neck seems to have gone smoothly but there are a few things to remember. it isjust hours are a few things to remember. it is just hours since the new restrictions came into effect and many other people who have come across the border during those hours will still be in

processing centres or moving to centres. also, a federaljudge has blocked temporarily de biden administration's plans to release migrants who have been cleared and vetted before they have a court notice. they were hoping to use that method to relieve some of the intense strain on the immigration system here and there would be able to do that for the next couple of weeks. so that might go some way to explain why the streets in el paso, which have been quiet for a couple of days, but in the months and weeks leading up to this we have seen hundreds of people on the streets and they were cleared ahead of the lifting of title 42, really, to make way for the anticipated spiky number of people coming across. we haven't yet seen that but people here are bracing themselves because theyjust don't know what is going to happen in the days to come. well, will, sophie mentioned the latest legal developments

of the us side. we also know that the mexican foreign minister has said that they will only accept 1000 deportees a day from the united states. how has that been received? it was to be expected in a way. i don't — was to be expected in a way. i don't think_ was to be expected in a way. i don't think the mexican government wanted to be seen as passive _ government wanted to be seen as passive partners in all of this _ passive partners in all of this he _ passive partners in all of this. he pointed out that they had only— this. he pointed out that they had only taken a maximum of 16,000 — had only taken a maximum of 16,000 in— had only taken a maximum of 16,000 in a month at the height of title — 16,000 in a month at the height of title 42, and says this will be the — of title 42, and says this will be the situation. they will take — be the situation. they will take the _ be the situation. they will take the agreed 30,000 a month from _ take the agreed 30,000 a month from various countries, the specific— from various countries, the specific four countries in lethi— specific four countries in latin america that was agreed with— latin america that was agreed with the — latin america that was agreed with the biden administration, cuba. — with the biden administration, cuba, haiti, venezuela, nicaragua, but they are going beyond — nicaragua, but they are going beyond that. this isn't going to flood _ beyond that. this isn't going to flood the system anymore than — to flood the system anymore than it — to flood the system anymore than it already is. on the flipside. _ than it already is. on the flipside, as we know, they are strengthening security on the southern border and closing processing centres. that is

particularly important. 33 temporary processing centres across _ temporary processing centres across the country have been closed — across the country have been closed and no more visas, transit— closed and no more visas, transit visas, to be issued to migrants _ transit visas, to be issued to migrants. that allowed migrants to arrive — migrants. that allowed migrants to arrive in — migrants. that allowed migrants to arrive in the southern border— to arrive in the southern border with guatemala and make their way— border with guatemala and make their way up calmly over a period _ their way up calmly over a period of— their way up calmly over a period of 30 days to the us border _ period of 30 days to the us border. that will now be very difficult — border. that will now be very difficult and we have been hearing _ difficult and we have been hearing this evening that a migrant— hearing this evening that a migrant camp on the outskirts of where — migrant camp on the outskirts of where i_ migrant camp on the outskirts of where i am in mexico city is basically— of where i am in mexico city is basically being evicted. there are around 1000 haitian migrants been put on buses and taken _ migrants been put on buses and taken to— migrants been put on buses and taken to destinations, they don't — taken to destinations, they don't know where. it is likely they— don't know where. it is likely they will— don't know where. it is likely they will be southern states and they will be obliged to be deported back to haiti from there — deported back to haiti from there or— deported back to haiti from there or sent back to central america _ there or sent back to central america-— there or sent back to central america. , ~ ., ., america. sophie, we know that for a long _ america. sophie, we know that for a long time _ america. sophie, we know that for a long time the _ america. sophie, we know that for a long time the biden - for a long time the biden administration had been warning about tougher measures. ijust wonder, you know, speaking to the people that you have been there on the ground, meeting them, have they been expressing concern about that? are they worried about that? i

concern about that? are they worried about that?— worried about that? i think when you _ worried about that? i think when you speak _ worried about that? i think when you speak to - worried about that? i think when you speak to people | worried about that? i think - when you speak to people here in alpecin who have come across the border and you asked them about the changes to the rules, the lifting of title 42, most of them or almost all of them have no idea what you're talking about. ——in el paso. i was speaking to a member of a humanitarian rights organisation that has been working on both sides of the border here at el paso, and he said it is interesting the messaging to get through because there is a very clear message from the secretary of state for homeland security who said that the border is still closed, but on the other hand, you have republicans like the governor of the state of texas, greg abbott, who said that it is like the border will be open, it is like lifting the title 42 is laying out a welcome mat for illegal immigrants. and they are not getting any of this information firsthand. a lot of it comes by word—of—mouth and rumours and some of them are getting that message and so we had seen a spike in the numbers of people

coming across in the days leading up to the lifting of title 42, and that may have been because they thought that they needed to go then. so i think what happens is that people get a very confused message, it may be a clear one come out of washington, dc, but what people here on the ground isn't necessarily that. fiur isn't necessarily that. our correspondent _ isn't necessarily that. our correspondent that - isn't necessarily that. our correspondent that sophie long in el paso, and will grant, our correspondent in mexico city. thank you to you both. well, earlier my colleague sumi somaskanda spoke to marta costanza youth, who is a principal deputy assistant secretary at the state department. marta, welcome to bbc news. thank you very much forjoining us. i want to start by asking you about what president biden has said — also, border patrol authorities have told the bbc, they have said that the lifting of title 42 will mean more chaos at the border. and right now there are, of course, tens of thousands of people waiting

to cross into the us. is the state department concerned about the situation at the border? thanks so much, sumi. so, obviously, we are concerned with the situation at the border. however, we have known for some time that the title 42 would be lifted. and so the state department really has been focused on a plan that to work with the region, throughout the region, on a series of initiatives to help decongest the border and to help provide people protection in the region and along the way. so let's talk about some of those policies that were unveiled by the biden administration that work, as you said, with the region. and the biden administration's new asylum policies are, of course, predicated upon working with countries where some of these processing centres are going to be like guatemala and colombia. are you confident that these centres in working with these countries is going to work effectively? yeah, so we are really... so, we have been working

with many countries in the region for many years in working to build a network of protection, of international protection. and so part of this is many of the countries in the region, even at five years ago, didn't have very strong asylum systems. and over the course of the past decade, but especially the last five years, many of the countries in the region now have options for protection along the way. so mexico has a very strong asylum system. guatemala has a nascent asylum system. and we have worked to really complement the efforts of these host countries in the region so that people have options to stay close to home. so if they want to return home, but also to be in neighbouring countries nearby. and so there have been at least... there are 20,000 people in the region who are displaced, but many of them have found a perch. so, marta, are these centres, when are they going to be ready? so we are working on a roll—out

of these centres. just, i think, yesterday we, our international organisation partners launched a web page called movilidadsegura.org and that has some basic information about some of the processes and some of the options that will be available in these centres. we are really working with a number of countries in the region and with our international organisation partners, so that once we have this platform set up, so that people can make appointments, we can start rolling out the movement of people into these centres. and one of the main things that we would like people to do is to be assessed for refugee resettlement in the united states. what are migrants saying along the way? because some of the migrants we've been speaking to, rather, at the bbc, have said they want to head directly to the us. so are you confident that they are going to be willing to go to these

centres and file these claims for asylum ? sumi, i really think people want to be in the region. they say they want to enter through the puerta grande. right. they want to enter the united states in a way that is regular. right. and so if given the consequence regime that is now in place at the border, we are trying to give people options so that they can, if they really do want to come to the united states, that they access the united states through a legal pathway. i was talking to a foreign ministerfrom the region who had mentioned to me that he had taken his fourth trip, and he hadn't been foreign minister that long, to another country in the region to pick up the remains of migrants from his own country who had perished along the way. i mean, this is tragic. and marta, final question. you know, these people are fleeing violence,

poverty, oppression and making their way to the us. what can the us do in its foreign policy to address some of these push factors that is that are causing these record numbers? well, i will say sumi that's a great question. since the beginning of the administration, we have been really looking very closely at all of this. and there has long been a root cause of strategy in the region. and this administration has really expanded on that and has been focused on really addressing some of the root causes. but the other piece of this is, is regional responsibility sharing on migration management. and so, if you'll recall, injune of 2022, there was a summit of the americas, and president biden stood beside 20 other leaders from the region, and they endorsed the los angeles declaration on migration and protection. and that really was focused on how we together as a region can confront some of the challenges with regards to irregular migration.

we have changed the narrative in the region and we have such great partners in the region who are really working to offer stabilisation and protection and options for people throughout the region so they're not forced to move, and to move irregularly. marta, thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. thanks so much, sumi. state department principal deputy assistant secretary marta costanzo youth there. sumi somaskanda also got the reaction of janet napolitano, former us secretary of homeland security under the 0bama administration. it is very good to have your on the programme. and border patrol authorities have told the bbc that the lifting of title 42 will mean more chaos at the border. and right now there are tens of thousands of people waiting to come into the us from mexico. how concerned do you think the public should be on the security of the border? well, i think border security has been important.

it was important to the 0bama administration and important to the biden administration. and you need to think of the border in a couple of different ways. one, and what is happening now is that with the lifting of title 42, the consequences for someone crossing illegally into the country will actually be more severe. they'll be put into what's called expedited removal under another portion of the us code, title 8, which will ban them from being able to reapply to enter the united states forfive years at a minimum. and so that's that's number one. number two, the administration has coupled that with increasing the lawful pathways for people to cross into the united states lawfully. they've increased the number of visas that will be awarded, particularly to individuals from venezuela, nicaragua, haiti and cuba.

and then number three, i think an enormous amount of effort has gone into working with local communities and nonprofit organisations to make sure that those who do come across, who are making an application for refugee status, for asylum status, are entitled to have a very prompt hearing on that place to stay while they're here. secretary, those are the measures that are in place, of course, but nonetheless, even before title 42 expired, there were a record number of crossings into the us. authorities are saying they're expecting a massive surge of people to cross the border. what should the biden administration do in lieu of action from congress, of course, if these numbers continue to rise again despite those measures? well, again, it's a it's a logistical challenge. it's a humanitarian challenge. it's a legal challenge. and part of it is staffing. part of it is moving resources, such as moving personnel from the department of defence down toward the border. it's working very closely

with governors along it's working very closely with governors along the border. it's working closely with nonprofit organisations along the border. it is it is not one one department of the federal government. it's an all of government approach. and the number one thing i think that needs to be done now is to communicate to those who are waiting to try to cross correct information about how they can cross legally, how they make an application, because so much misinformation is being shared by the so called coyotes, the smugglers along the border. right. well, our correspondents reporting on both sides of the border have said the vast majority of migrants don't actually understand what the rules are. they're trying to enter anyways. and we are seeing daily records of more than 10,000 migrants crossing into the us.

the homeland security's — secretary mayorkas has said that the border is closed, but is the border actually secure right now? the border is operational. it is as secure as it can be, and more and more resources are being placed at the border. but the message needs to go out that there are lawful ways to cross and unlawful ways to cross. and if you try to cross unlawfully, the consequences will be more severe. so your home state senator, kristen sinema, did speak to the bbc a little bit earlier. i want to play you a clip of what she said. i heard from the yuma border patrol sector chief that the increase in her traffic was 40% increase from last week to this week. but today i heard that they're over 200% increase. in fact, the us marshals were just announced this morning to be deployed to yuma to help with processing. why would anyone wait until today to make that decision? they knew this was coming and it's too late. so, secretary, she's talking about yuma county

on the border there. did the biden administration falter in the run up to title 42 expiring? no, i don't think so. and i know senator cinema very well and i don't want to get into a tit for tat with senator cinema. i think the key thing now is, look, the situation is what it is. i think we can anticipate that there will be an increase perhaps for a while. how long and how much is hard to tell? immigration patterns change over time, all the time, and you have to be able to evolve and adjust to the situation as it's occurring. janet napolitano speaking to my colleague sumi somaskanda. who also spoke with dr victor trevino. he's the mayor of the city of laredo, in southern texas located on the us/mexico border.

it is good to have your new programme. you have said before that the expiration of title 42 would lead to a massage surge of migrants as many border towns have expected, what are you seeing in laredo today? first of all, thank you for having me. what has been put into place of the last 15 days when i issued a declaration of disaster has been utilised. at this point these systems are holding up. now the city border control, the county ngos, and our mexican counterparts across from us are working together to get through this. now, remember, laredo continues to be one of the safest cities with the inner city. 0ur with the inner city. our biggest problem will be the transfers from texas that are currently being overwhelmed at this point. the transfer will overwhelm us. another concern is we don't have a paediatric intensive care unit and with the arrival of family units i don't want to see any child get gravely ill and not be able to treat them. as we know, they

take this long journey, some of the children may be needing medical care. so this morning, if there is a hurricane coming, our goal and challenge will be to make sure we balance the resources of our community and the humanitarian aid that these migrants need. but at the end of the day this has only been a federal problem for decades and now it has become a problem for border communities like ours. you said this is a federal problem at the moment and we know the biden administration, as title 42 has expired, has put in place new asylum seeker rules, they said they will take time to show an impact. how much time you have in laredo? well, if there migrants are going to be transferred to laredo we could see this in the following days. title 42 just expired, but we anticipate, not because it and —— explain immediately, it will happen in

the next following days. the measures the government is doing a fine and good, but these are things that should have been done a long time ago and putting my meta hat on, i think we are handling this problem at a local problem and it is basically a federal problem, but we have to do our part while the federal government gets everything together —— mayor. government gets everything together -- mayor.- together -- mayor. doctor victor trevino, _ together -- mayor. doctor victor trevino, mayor - together -- mayor. doctor victor trevino, mayor of l together -- mayor. doctor. victor trevino, mayor of the city of laredo, thank you for being on the programme site. thank you for having me. tens of thousands of migrants are gathered at the border, hoping to enter the us as stricter immigration rules now take effect. many of them have traveled long distances — often facing dangerous conditions along the way. this is "the beast" — a freight train used by some to travel from southern to northern mexico, a journey of more than 1,000 miles. migrants are exposed to extreme temperatures and some have been injured or even killed while hitching a ride. from riding trains to crossing jungles, every migrant at the border has their own story. this is roxana's story.

you are watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington, dc. do stay with us if you can. hello there. we had big contrasts in weather on friday. west was best in terms of sunshine, so blue skies like these were pretty widespread. and in cardiff we had the warmest weather in the uk with temperatures reaching 20 degrees. but east scotland and most of england were stuck under this area of cloud, a blanket of cloud, if you like. not that it was much of a blanket around the north york moors in fylingdales, temperatures only got to eight degrees. and with the northeaster, i'm sure that felt more like wintertime. now where we did see those temperatures struggle across eastern areas, eventually over the weekend, we should see some sunshine break out and that will lift temperatures quite widely into the high teens to low 20s. so, eventually it

will get warmer. before we get there, though, we have this pesky low cloud with us again. most of england, east wales, eastern areas of scotland thick enough for an odd spit of rain. and these are the kind of temperatures, perhaps, if you're up early in the day. now, high pressure is in charge of the weather on saturday. so, we are looking at dry weather conditions. the best of the early morning sunshine is likely to be across west scotland, northern ireland, wales and western england. cloudy elsewhere, but that cloud will get munched away by the may sunshine. eventually, there could be one or two areas that keep the cloud across eastern areas of england, around the east coast. same for eastern scotland. but for the majority it's dry, it's sunny and it's getting warmer. temperatures high teens to low 20s, perhaps reaching 22 in northern ireland. if that happens, it would be the warmest day of the year so far, not that 22 is that impressive. by this stage of the year, more often than not, we've already had warm spells with temperatures into the mid

to even high 20s. so, 22 this stage of may. bah! now the second half of the weekend, we do have a cold front that's going to be dropping rain and dropping the temperatures across northwestern areas. so a cooler day for scotland and northern ireland with rain here. and the rain eventually will reach northwest england and across wales as well. to the east of that, well, i can't rule out an odd shower, but there will be hazy spells of sunshine and it could stay quite warm with temperatures again, high teens to low 20s. cooler, though, in the northwest. that's our weather this weekend. but i want to tell you about a serious cyclone that's heading towards the bangladesh/myanmar border region. this is home to many hundreds of thousands of rohingya refugees. and the weather looks horrendous, damaging winds, huge falls of rain and a storm surge. this could have potentially devastating impacts.

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